Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed that he has officially ended his 2024 presidential campaign.
Pence dropped the big news during a speech he delivered in Las Vegas at an event hosted by The Republican Jewish Coalition.
“Traveling across the country over the past 6 months I came here to say it's become clear to me,” Pence explained to the crowd. “This is not my time. So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”
The former vice president said that while he is leaving this campaign, he promises to “never leave the fight for conservative values” and “will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land.”
Pence has not faired well against former President Donald Trump in various 2024 campaign surveys; the former vice president captured just 7 percent support in an Emerson College poll posted in April and an even more pitiful three percent in an October poll conducted by the same institution.
Campaign filings for Pence showed just $1.18 million in the bank along with $621,000 in debt at the end of September, the Associated Press reports.
Pence plans to continue his political activism in part by working with Advancing American Freedom, a conservative think tank he founded after serving as Vice President of the United States. He views it as an alternative to the Heritage Foundation, according to the outlet.
“We thank God for his amazing grace. He gave us the courage to step forward so many years ago. And the wisdom to step aside,” Pence said after his announcement, according to Politico. “My fellow Republicans, thank you for your kindness, your support and your prayers over the many years. As we go home to Indiana, let me assure you we leave here with optimism and faith. We don’t know what the future holds. But 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 for Israel, are yet to come.”
