Financial warning alarms for Pence and other long-shot candidates as 2024 approaches

CNN
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Former Vice President Mike Pence has racked up debt in his bid for the White House, according to statistics released by his campaign on Sunday, and his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination comes just months before his first campaign. highlights the economic hurdles faced by

Other fundraising totals announced by Republican candidates ahead of a midnight filing deadline with the Federal Election Commission also reflect financial differences among a large group of candidates vying to become the party’s standard-bearer. It highlights the huge disparity between Former President Donald Trump appears to be at the top of his game in fundraising, the report said. numbers his campaign previously released. – Pence and several others are far behind.

Pence’s presidential campaign raised $3.3 million in the third quarter and is expected to report $1.2 million still in the bank as of Sept. 30, a campaign spokesperson said. .

However, the campaign plans to report $620,000 in debt.

His campaign said he spent $150,000 of his own money between July and September as he struggled to gain support from Republican voters and donors.

NBC News first reported Pence’s third-quarter totals..

Florida Governor Ron DeSantisformer South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott all report raising millions more through their campaigns and affiliated committees, strengthening their financial footing for the upcoming campaign.

Scott has $13.3 million in cash on hand, of which $11.6 million will be used in the Republican presidential primary, campaign officials said Sunday.

This would put the senators above the available primary funding previously announced by Haley ($9.1 million) and DeSantis ($5 million).

(Some candidates have raised more than the limit set in the primary election and cannot use this limit unless they advance to the general election.)

Meanwhile, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie raised $3.8 million in the third quarter and had $3.9 million in deposits as of Sept. 30, according to a campaign spokesperson.

All funds raised by Mr. Christie are designated for use in the primary, a spokesperson said.

Axios first reported Chrisie’s totalis betting his campaign on a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary.

Another Republican candidate, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former software executive who self-financed much of his early campaign, announced he had more than $2.2 million lined up for the primary. .

A fierce battle continues among Republican candidates as they try to persuade the party’s wealthy donors to support them as the leading alternative to Mr. Trump. DeSantis, Haley and Scott’s entourage all headed to Texas on Friday. pitch in front of a group of millionaires They are part of the American Opportunity Alliance, and each campaign maintains that their candidate has a path to the nomination.

However, Mr. Trump dominated the field in polling and fundraising, and said his aides would report that he had $36 million available for the primary. (The Trump campaign announced that Mr. Trump’s political activities brought in $45.5 million in income in the third quarter, but this includes funds raised through the Community Chest Committee. The organization also shares its proceeds with President Trump’s leadership PAC, and details of its financial activities will not be reported until next year.)

Mr. Pence’s financial woes highlight the difficulties Mr. Trump’s former running mate has faced in his rise this year, despite his high profile and long political career as an Indiana congressman, governor and vice president. There is.

Signs of that financial strain were evident Thursday when Mr. Pence entered the state-run Nevada presidential primary. Rather than a party-led caucus – This carries a $55,000 filing fee and will be used to determine the allocation of delegates to next year’s Republican convention.

Pence told reporters in New Hampshire last week that his campaign “maybe needs to be a little more selective about where we invest our resources.”

Pence also said he is still working on getting enough small donors to qualify for the program. 3rd Republican primary debate Next month I’ll be in Miami. Requirements include participants must earn at least 4% in multiple polls and raise campaign contributions from at least 70,000 unique donors.

As a Republican jockey President Joe Biden’s campaign was announced on Sunday. He announced that he had raised more than $71 million for his campaign and the Democratic Party in the third quarter of this year, which was more than what Trump and other members of the Republican primary had reported raising as of Sunday afternoon. far exceeds.