(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – In what most see as the long-overdue end to a presidential campaign that was always a long shot at best, former Vice President Mike Pence has terminated his bid in the 2024 GOP nomination race – despite being “optimistic” enough to state that “we don’t know what the future holds.”
In a speech before the annual conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Saturday (see video clip below), Pence, the former Vice President under Donald Trump, halted his pursuit of his party’s presidential nomination.
“After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president,” said Pence, 64, who previously served as governor of Indiana.
“Let me promise you I will never leave the fight for conservative values, and I will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land, so help me God,” headed.
“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” the former vice president reflected further.
Pence faced considerable challenges in a Republican field teeming with contenders, National Review reports.
A Wall Street Journal poll in September revealed Pence’s difficulties in gaining traction, placing him on par with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, with none surpassing 5% in first-choice ballots.
“I urge all my fellow Republicans here to give our country a Republican standard-bearer that will, as Lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our nature, and not only lead us to victory but lead our nation with civility back to the time-honored principles that have always made America strong and prosperous and free,” the former vice president urged.
His campaign encountered significant obstacles, failing to gain 70,000 individual donors.
This shortfall endangered his participation in the third Republican presidential debate scheduled for November 8 in Miami.
Compounding these issues, his campaign finances were deteriorating, grappling with a debt of $600,000 and a modest $1.2 million in funds, with limited prospects for improvement, the report notes.
The announcement surprised many, including prominent Republican donor Fred Zeidman, who described it as a “total shock.”
Reports from Politico noted “audible gasps” among the audience as Pence broke the news.
“We know who holds the future, and with faith in Him and boundless confidence in all of you, we know the best days for America and our most cherished ally, Israel, are yet to come,” Pence concluded.
BREAKING: Former Vice President Mike Pence suspends U.S. presidential campaign pic.twitter.com/wr9RsdV1Id
— Cicada News (@cicada_news) October 28, 2023
