Former Vice President Mike Pence’s presidential ambitions may be in peril, as his fundraising efforts for the second quarter of 2021 fell short of the standards set by the Republican National Committee earlier this year.
According to reports, Pence has raised $1.2 million for his presidential campaign in just three weeks since launching his White House bid. When combined with the roughly $2.6 million reportedly raised by fundraising entity Committed to America, it amounts to only $3.8 million. With the RNC’s standards set at 40,000 unique donors, Pence’s team has only managed to attract 6,000.
Pence’s struggles in the financial realm are compounded by his weak national polling average of 6.3 percent, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average.
Though he didn’t enter the race until late June, some of his opponents have amassed sizable war chests and donor bases since launching in recent weeks.
Christie, for example, has managed to raise $1.65 million over the second quarter, hitting the 40,000 unique donor mark in just 25 days, while his supportive super PAC, Tell It Like It Is PAC, has reportedly raised nearly $5.9 million.
Asa Hutchinson fared even more poorly financially, only being able to raise $743,065 across all entities. His national polling is nearly nonexistent, with RealClearPolitics averaging 0.8 percent.
Former South Carolina governor and US ambassador Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former President Donald Trump, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have all achieved the RNC’s basic requirements to appear in the August primary debate.
The RNC’s debate requirements stipulate that candidates must poll at one percent in three national polls or two national and one early state polls. The surveys must include a minimum of 800 likely Republican voters and can’t be conducted by a polling company affiliated with a candidate or committee. Candidates must have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors with at least 200 donors in 20-plus states; they also must sign a pledge agreeing not to participate in any unapproved debates and a pledge to support the eventual party nominee.
The American people are currently in the process of vetting the candidates, with some potential voters closely watching the interviews of Republican presidential candidates given by Tucker Carlson at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa this week.
It remains to be seen whether Pence can muster the necessary financial support and reach at least one percent in national polls in order to qualify for the first primary debate in August. Without that, his 2022 White House bid might be over before it’s even started.
