Mike Pence’s campaign and super PAC raised just $3.85 million in the second quarter of 2023, a Pence adviser told POLITICO Friday, a relatively small haul as the former vice president struggles to gain traction in the crowded GOP presidential primary.
Pence, who entered the race for president in early June, saw his campaign raise just over $1.1 million in the first three weeks of his campaign, while his super PAC, Committed to America, announced it raised just over $2.6 million dollars.
Pence’s haul pales in comparison to the fundraising totals released by many of his Republican rivals, especially given Pence’s previous two appearances on a presidential ticket and access to donors. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who officially announced his bid for president in late May, raised over $20 million in the first six weeks of his campaign, while former President Donald Trump and his PAC raised over $35 million in the second quarter. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott raised $6.1 million in the second quarter and reported having over $21 million on hand.
The modest fundraising numbers come as Pence has struggled to gain ground in the crowded GOP primary, both nationally and in the key early states of Iowa and New Hampshire. A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday, one of the qualifying polls for the first GOP primary debate, found Pence in fourth among GOP voters, polling behind biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as DeSantis and Trump. An NBC News poll released in late June also found that the former vice president’s poll numbers were underwater among GOP voters, with 37 percent of GOP voters saying they had a negative opinion of Pence.
Pence allies maintain that his campaign is still in strong shape and note that early fundraising success, and extensive spending on advertising in early states, has seldom translated to success in Republican primaries.
