October 5, 2016 | No Comments
Mike Pence’s steady debate performance helped calm the nerves of Republicans feeling anxious about the current presidential campaign — and cemented their view that he remains a national-level candidate if the election goes badly for the GOP in November.
The Indiana governor laid out the type of policy portfolio that Republicans seem likely to adopt in a post-Trump party, an anti-abortion, tax-cutting and small government regimen that’s been the center of the congressional GOP for decades. And while Pence’s defense of Donald Trump was questionable — he struck a substantially more interventionist tone on both Syria and Russia than the GOP presidential nominee — Pence’s efforts on Tuesday bucked up Republicans who support Trump as well as those who remain on the fence.
And that means that if Trump loses on Nov. 8, Pence may be one of the first names bandied about to run in 2020.
“He is all in on this 2016 election … but I don’t think anybody came away last night not thinking this guy’s got a bright future,” said Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), a close friend of Pence’s and firm Trump backer. “He has a bright future regardless of what it is.”
“He certainly helped his chances, if that’s what he wants to do,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), another close friend of Pence, said of the Indiana governor’s potential higher aspirations. “I don’t think that was his goal, but certainly didn’t do anything to diminish any chances.”
Flake, who has refused to endorse Trump, said he doesn’t know whether Pence has political aspirations beyond running on the Trump ticket, but “I hope he does. I’ll put it that way.”
Republicans insisted they are not looking beyond the current race. Several made clear that they don’t think Pence was undermining Trump during Tuesday’s bout with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), even as Hillary Clinton’s surrogates pressed the case that Pence’s performance was about saving himself and abandoning Trump.
And there is good reason to look at Pence’s aspirations: He’s now a national figure, beloved on Capitol Hill by Republicans and just the type of throwback politician who many in the GOP wished had ended up with the nomination in the first place.
Pence flirted with running for president this cycle but ultimately decided to run for reelection as governor of Indiana. His reelection was going to be a dogfight, and Pence very well might have lost in November because of sagging popularity in the state and lingering angst over his state’s religious freedom fights. Instead, he opted to become Trump’s running mate, serving as the steady, calming hand of the party while Trump sowed political chaos at will.
Pence’s influence hasn’t translated in the polls — Trump is losing — but many Republicans have become far more enthusiastic now that they can cheer for Pence. His stock is inarguably rising within the party with each day that he keeps his cool and defends Trump and the GOP from Democratic attacks.
“He significantly strengthens the ticket,” Coats said Wednesday.
Coats, however, wouldn’t directly entertain the notion of Pence running in 2020 — perhaps because doing so would effectively acknowledge that Trump is on pace to lose. And committed Trump supporters were even more circumspect.
“Americans saw a calm, cool, collected and accomplished individual in Pence. So whatever his figure brings — as vice president or even as potential future president — [it] is certainly bright. He really did a great job introducing himself to the 98 percent of America who didn’t know who he was,” said Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), one of Trump’s first backers on the Hill.
But Collins said Pence will have to wait awhile: He believes Trump will be a two-term president and will leave coattails for Pence to run on in eight years.
“I do think Trump will serve two terms. And [Pence] is of a good age. He’s 57 years old, so he would be 65 [in 2024]. And as both Clinton and Trump have shown: That’s not an old age anymore,” Collins said.
But in the near term, Democrats see an opportunity to drive a wedge between Pence and Trump, particularly after the vice presidential candidate largely evaded Kaine’s attempts to confront Pence directly with Trump’s own rhetoric. They say that Pence’s “smooth” performance Tuesday, coupled with policy pronouncements that at times strayed from Trump’s own plans, were evidence that Pence will do whatever he can over the next month to keep his own name in the presidential parlor game for 2020.
“Mike Pence was more interested in his 2020 prospects than he was defending his running mate,” said Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for Kaine, on Tuesday night.
“He seemed sort of likable,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said a few hours later on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “But he didn’t get the job done. The vice president’s job is to go in and try to defend the top of the ticket. Mike Pence looked more like he was looking at 2020 than 2016.”
If Pence’s intentions are indeed to make a run at the presidency in four years, it’s a good time to get started. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, the youngest senator and a star among hawkish Republicans, will make a four-day swing into Iowa starting Saturday to campaign for state pols and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).