Vice President Mike Pence is making aggressive moves to raise money for Republican lawmakers prior to the midterm elections.
In the next three months, he will be touring the country to raise funds, while also promoting the progress the GOP has made in the last year.
His goal is to expand the Republican majority in both the Congress and House.
“Elections are about choices,” said Pence. “If we frame that choice, I think we’re going to reelect majorities in the House and the Senate, and I actually think we’re going to, when all the dust settles after 2018, I think we’re going to have more Republicans in Congress in Washington, D.C., than where we started.”
He will be targeting red states, with democratic lawmakers that especially oppose President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“As we travel around the country, whether it be a political event or an official event, we’re going to make sure … the American people know that the agenda that we’re advancing is a result of partners on Capitol Hill, and we’re going to thank the people that are helping us, and we’re going to make sure people know … what the other side looks like,” said Pence. “I expect we’re going to spend a fair amount of time in the states that the president carried very strongly — Indiana being one of them, West Virginia here being another, places like Montana, elsewhere around the country, we think represent a real opportunity for us.”
In January, at the presidential retreat, the Trump administration was warned that the mid-term elections did not look promising for the Republican party.
It’s not uncommon for the first mid-term election to be difficult for the party in power in the White House.
“I know that conventional wisdom says that the first midterm election for the party in the White House is challenging — but you know what President Trump thinks of conventional wisdom,” said Pence. “I was in that campaign in 2016. I’ll never forget how many times we were treated to the latest polling that showed that the race was all but decided. But I never believed it. And I’ve got the same feeling right now.”
Both, Trump and Pence decided it was time to take some aggressive action to rescue the Republican majority.
Pence will be busy jet-setting the next few months.
“This weekend, Pence will head to Pittsburgh for an event for Rick Saccone, a Republican running in a tight special election. There will be a Feb. 16 stop in San Antonio for Rep. Will Hurd, who represents a district that spans part of the Texas-Mexico border. On Feb. 21, the vice president will be in Naples, Florida, for an NRCC event,” writes Politico. “In March alone, Pence plans to be in the Detroit area for the NRCC; Kentucky for Rep. Andy Barr; Missouri for Josh Hawley’s Senate bid; Ohio for Stivers; New York for the NRCC; and Minnesota, Iowa and Pennsylvania. In April, he heads to North Carolina for Rep. Mark Walker, Omaha for Rep. Donald Bacon, Nevada for Sen. Dean Heller, and Indiana for the NRSC.”
Not to mention, the GOP fundraising is already through the roof. GOP organizations raised $31.6 million in 2017, which is a record breaking amount.
Americans for Prosperity has announced that it would spend $400 million to support conservative-leaning candidates and causes, the largest amount ever spent during an election cycle by the network.
On his travels, Pence will be stressing the many GOP successes, including the tax plan, which is expected to boost the economy by 3 percent in just 2018.
An area of contention between Democrats and Republicans is immigration policy, specifically the impact on the “dreamers.” However, this week the White House previewed its immigration plan, which includes a pathway for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who made their way to the U.S. as children.
Trump has also said that he ultimately wants to reach a bipartisan deal on this year’s infrastructure plan.
Author’s note: Traditionally, the party in power loses in the mid-terms. But these plans and the Trump administration’s first year successes could influence a different outcome. There also seems to be some juicy scandals and sound bites emerging, which may reach their peak in the election season and will evidently jeopardize the democratic party’s wins.