Mike Pence Says He's Ruling Out Another White House Run
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday he is ruling out another presidential run after an unsuccessful bid during the 2024 contest.
In an interview with NBC News' Kristen Welker, Pence
'I don't see it, but we'll keep standing for everything we've always stood for, and we'll let the future take care of itself,' said Pence, who served as President Donald Trump's vice president during his first term.
Pence said that he wants to have a role in shaping conservative policy, although he did not provide details.
'I want to be a voice for conservative values. I want to be a voice for the policies and liberties enshrined in the Constitution of the United States,' he said. 'I want to be a champion of the conservative cause, and that's where I'll stay focused, and we'll let the future take care of itself.'
When he dropped out of the race in October 2023, Pence had failed to attract enough primary voters and donors to sustain a candidacy that had languished in the low single digits in polls. Meanwhile, he was low on campaign cash when he ultimately bowed out.
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Pence's third-quarter fundraising totals on Oct. 15 of that year had, at the time, showed his campaign was $620,000 in debt, with only $1.2 million cash on hand. That was far less than several better-performing Republican rivals and insufficient for a White House race.
Pence, 65, ran as what he characterized as a traditional social and fiscal conservative, as well as a foreign policy hawk, while calling for increased military aid to Ukraine and cuts in welfare spending.
Months later, he did not back Trump as the GOP nominee. The relationship between the two had soured over disagreement about Pence's handling of the 2020 electoral count in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, and the political fallout from the protest that was held outside the Capitol the same day.
Earlier this month, Pence accepted the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for what the JFK Library Foundation says was 'for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6, 2021.'
As for the 2028 race, Trump said earlier this month he is 'looking to have four great years, and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward.'
The president told NBC News on May 4 that Vice President JD Vance would be 'at the top of the list' in terms of who could be the Republican front-runner. But he noted that there are others in the GOP who could run for the nation's highest office, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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