Former Vice President Mike Pence has raised $1.2 million for his presidential campaign, according to two campaign aides, a sum that raises serious questions about Republican appetite for Pence in 2024.
Now the Pence campaign is fighting to qualify for the first televised Republican presidential debate next month in Milwaukee. An aide said she had yet to receive donations from 40,000 donors, the threshold required to reach the debate stage.
Pence, who entered the race on June 5, was always a long shot in a race dominated by his former running mate, former President Donald J. Trump. In addition to challenges from Mr. Pence, he is also running against other candidates, such as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who appeal to evangelical voters.
Mr. Pence’s repeated defense of his actions to certify Mr. Trump’s defeat before Congress on January 6, 2021 has alienated him from Mr. Trump’s loyal base without appearing to win many converts from the wing of the GOP he wants. go ahead. of the former president.
Unlike other candidates who have used online tricks to get 40,000 donors, Pence has invested little in finding contributors online. His campaign has spent just $14,230 on Facebook and Google advertising, according to data compiled by Bully Pulpit Interactive, a marketing and communications agency, a number that is one fortieth of what he has spent on those platforms. Vivek Ramaswamy, a political novice who he joined the race in February.
In an admission of his struggle to raise money online, the Pence campaign plans to spend a large part of what he has raised on a robust direct mail program aimed at helping him amass enough donors to qualify for the first debate.
The super PAC supporting Mr. Pence, Committed to America, had raised an additional $2.7 million during the fundraising reporting period that ended June 30, an aide said. For a fundraising vehicle that can accept unlimited contributions, that total is pretty small.
Other Republican presidential candidates have announced much larger fundraising sums from the three-month reporting period; some of them, unlike Pence, were in the running for the entire quarter.
Trump said his campaign and joint fundraising committee had raised $35 million in the second quarter. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida announced that he had raised about $20 million. Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, raised $4.3 million for her campaign and an additional $3 million for her affiliated committees. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said his campaign had raised $6.1 million.
Even North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is largely self-funding his own hopeful campaign that began the same day as Pence’s, said Friday he had raised $1.6 million from donors, plus $10 million of his own money. he has given to his campaign.
Mr. Burgum has been using tricks like offering $20 gift cards to the first 50,000 people who donate at least $1 to his campaign, or the chance to win a Yeti cooler for a small donation, all in hopes of reaching to the discussion stage. .
