“I think there are a lot of really good candidates potentially out there. I’m personally in favor of any Republican who has Trump’s policies without Trump’s personal ego,” said Fred Yocum, of Brentwood, New Hampshire. In interviews, voters who attended the events generally praised Pence but didn’t express the kind of unbridled enthusiasm often reserved for Trump. And now he’s in a position to speak more freely.”īut after so much deference, it remains unclear whether Pence can emerge from Trump’s shadow and make a compelling case to voters that he should be the future of a party that has been so dramatically redrawn in the former president’s image. “He had a role to advance the president’s policies and to articulate them. “For four years he played a different role,” said Short. “We miss you very much,” the bakery’s owner, Alexa Firman, told Pence as the two chatted and posed for photos.Īfter four years of playing second fiddle to Trump, Pence’s increasingly busy schedule of travel and speeches gives him what aides see as an opportunity to reassert himself as the frontman. The bakery was featured in ads from the Coalition to Protect American Workers, a conservative group run by Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, and fined for violating COVID-19 mask regulations. “Keep your hands off the American people’s paychecks,” he demanded.Īt the Simply Delicious bakery in Bedford, Pence greeted customers and posed for selfies. In a speech sponsored by the conservative Heritage Action organization, Pence blamed Biden for the country’s soaring inflation and railed against the roughly $2 trillion social and environmental bill that is being considered in Congress. Still, on Wednesday, Pence was greeted warmly during his second New Hampshire visit since leaving office. And critics of Trump are unlikely to embrace a man who almost never voiced disagreement with the former president and who continues to yoke himself to that administration. Much of Trump’s base remains livid that Pence refused the former president’s demand to block certification of the 2020 election - something he did not have power to do. “Come 2023, we’ll reflect, we’ll pray and we’ll respond to that calling, whatever that is,” he said. He similarly sidestepped the question of what Trump’s calculations mean for him.īut he’s clear that he’s not waiting for his old boss to make a decision as he travels the country, delivers speeches and raises money. In interviews, for instance, he declined to take a side in the Republican primary for governor in Georgia, which features incumbent Brian Kemp against Trump-backed challenger and former Sen. Pence is opting for a middle ground, spending much of his time talking up his and Trump’s time in office and insisting the two parted ways on good terms. Chris Christie, have dismissed the notion that a Trump candidacy should automatically clear the field. Ambassador Nikki Haley, have said they won’t run if Trump moves forward. Some fellow Republicans considering a campaign, including former U.N. That leaves Pence, whose life was threatened by Trump supporters at the Jan. At least for now, polls suggest he would run away with the Republican nomination. While that should be a boon in a party dominated by Trump loyalists, it’s a unique vulnerability for Pence, who is blamed by some supporters of the former president who wrongly believe he could have prevented Joe Biden from assuming the presidency in January.Īdding to the complexity is the prospect that Trump may also run again in 2024. He’s arguably tied more closely to former President Trump than any other Republican eyeing the White House. Pence’s approach belies the fact that he isn’t just any Republican courting the voters and activists in this state that helps decide presidential nominations. And then in 2023, we’ll look around and we’ll go where we’re called.” “So I’m dedicating all of my energy to the process of really winning back the Congress and winning statehouses in 2022. “To be honest with you, all of my focus is on 2022 because I think we’ve got a historic opportunity for not just a winning election, but a realignment election,” he told the Associated Press. But former Vice President Mike Pence insisted his tightly scheduled swing through New Hampshire on Wednesday was simply focused on next year’s midterms, when control of Congress is at stake.
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