In a recent poll on AFN.net, almost 73% of 3,000 respondents said they would not support former Vice President Mike Pence should he mount a campaign for president in 2024. Just a little over 11% said they would support his candidacy, and nearly 16% were unsure right now.
Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, has known Pence for many years. He doesn't believe the former Indiana governor has strong support from the Republican base right now.
"… The party has left him behind in favor of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis," Clark notes. "I just don't think this is Mike's time right now. We'll find that out if he goes to Iowa and other places – but I don't see where he goes for a strong enough base to get the nomination or even come close to it."
Clark suggests the former VP may be misreading the electorate. "I think people are so disgusted with Washington, DC; with how it's being run. I think the raid on Mar-a-Lago adds to that disgust," he says.
"And I don't think people want a nice guy who can reach across the aisle," the family advocate continues. "I think they want things turned upside down, and agencies and other things reworked and this government shrunken in size. I think they want someone who will go in there and make government smaller, not bigger; and make it more responsive to people who have concerns about it."
During a speech last week at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Pence implored fellow Republicans to stop lashing out at the FBI over the search of Donald Trump's Florida home and denounced calls by some of the former president's allies to defund the FBI. Also during the St. Anselm appearance, Pence said he would give "due consideration" if asked to testify before the January 6 House Committee.
