According to reports, Mike Pence’s presidential campaign has racked up $620,000 in debt.

The former vice president faces a tight financial squeeze despite raising $3.3 million in the third quarter.

Pence’s campaign currently has $1.2 million cash on hand.

“Pence himself chipped in $150,000 from his personal funds,” NBC News reports.

You must wonder if Pence’s failing campaign is about to go under.

NBC News reports:

Pence’s numbers reveal a campaign under serious strain, operating on completely different financial terrain from that of his rivals, and they raise questions about his ability to continue to compete in the GOP primaries. Racking up debt, in particular, has long been a sign of presidential campaigns in trouble — and potentially on the verge of ending.

The last GOP presidential primary season offers an ominous parallel from this moment eight years ago: Then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign reported just under $1 million in the bank and $161,000 in debt at the end of the third quarter of 2015, the equivalent moment in that election cycle. That’s when he dropped out of the race.

The next campaign finance report Walker’s suspended campaign filed made it clear how rapidly things could spiral. The report, covering the final three months of 2015, showed his campaign needed to deal with more than $1.2 million in debt. It took Walker a year to raise the money to retire the debt.

Should Mike Pence drop out of the race?

The answer is obvious to most.

His campaign never stood a chance.

Via POLITICO:

The former vice president raised $3.3 million in the third quarter, he reported Sunday. He has given himself $150,000 — a significant figure for a politician who has spent much of his life having never amassed much wealth, and one that far exceeds the less-than-six-figure salary he earned when he was Indiana governor less than a decade ago.

The dismal fundraising report reflects the lack of traction Pence has gained in the GOP primary. And it could get worse. Pence’s campaign has not yet said whether he’s amassed enough donors to qualify for the third debate in Miami on Nov. 8.

A Pence ally granted anonymity to assess the campaign frankly said he plans to stay in the race despite what this person said was a “brutal” fundraising quarter for Pence.

“That debt number is gonna be impossible to pay back,” the Pence ally said. “When he drops out he’s going to have to do debt-retirement fundraisers.”

A neutral Iowa Republican operative, granted anonymity to assess Pence’s campaign frankly, said it was difficult to see how Pence would make it to Iowa and its evangelical-rich caucuses.

“Sounds like a medium-sized Senate race,” this person said of Pence’s fundraising haul. In fact, some Republicans close to Pence had urged him to weigh a bid for Indiana’s open Senate seat in 2024 instead of seeking the presidency — an overture Pence declined.

Unless Pence remains determined to rack up more debt, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see him drop out before the third GOP Primary debate.

But we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.

 

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