Vice President Mike Pence has catapulted into the spotlight as a very visible and viable candidate for 2024. He has been leading the White House response, coordinating with governors, and sending him crisscrossing the country on a mission to encourage states to reopen.
The result is a powerful springboard for a Republican with half an eye on the race for the 2024 nomination, according to allies and administration officials.
“Pence is a natural with the governors and he, more than anyone else in the administration, has been traveling nonstop collecting chits with every GOP governor, mayor, and state leader. Hugely helpful in the inevitable race for key endorsements in 2024,” said a figure close to the Pence team.
“If anyone needs anything from the White House, if you’re an elected official, your first call is to Pence.”
For his part, the vice president has said politics are not a factor in his travel itinerary. Marc Short, his chief of staff, told the Washington Examiner that 2024 remained a long way off.
“Anyone who is not focused on this November is misplacing their focus,” he said.
A lot can happen before then. Trump’s reelection odds have narrowed in recent weeks as the coronavirus death toll passed 80,000. And then there is one more question for Pence. “The only uncertainty would be,” as a senior administration official put it, “does he want to do it.
In my humble opinion, I sure hope so. He would certainly make a great president.
For additional information visit our friends at the Washington Examiner.
