Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks in Des Moines in July. Photo: Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mike Pence is positioning himself for a 2024 presidential run by aiming to raise a whopping $18 million this year, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: While polls show Donald Trump as an early Republican favorite, his former vice president also has been making moves to be a candidate. His group, Advancing American Freedom, is shaping up as a vehicle for testing the waters and building the infrastructure needed for a White House bid.
Driving the news: The group is staffed by some of Pence's top allies and ex-aides, including former chief of staff Marc Short, political adviser Marty Obst and former senior Trump White House staffer Paul Teller.
- Donors at a recent retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, were asked to chip in a percentage of the target sum, the source said.
- AAF has also enlisted three fundraising firms to help build up its war chest, according to filings with state charity regulators.
- A source familiar with the group's operations told Axios it's aiming to raise $18 million during its first year — a huge sum for a new nonprofit group that doesn't offer its donors a tax break.
Between the lines: AAF has served as a post-government platform for Pence to pursue his brand of social conservative advocacy and promote his various media appearances.
- Since the group launched in April, it's spent about $60,000 on digital ads promoting the Indiana Republican and asking for contributions.
- If Pence seriously eyes a 2024 run, AAF could provide a platform for pre-campaign activities such as polling and candidate travel. If he enters the race, it could pour a chunk of its funds into a supportive political group.
The big picture: A Pence run is looking like a stronger possibility as he attends political events in key presidential swing states.
- He's also been fundraising for high-profile Republicans this year, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin and Iowa Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra.
- AAF also is burnishing Pence's social conservative bona fides with a pair of briefs filed with the Supreme Court.
- One seeks to overturn Roe v. Wade and the other aims to strike down limits on state education funding for religious schools.
Yes, but: Pence's standing among the Trump faithful remains shaky after he defied the former president's demand to withhold certification of Joe Biden's election victory in January.
- Far from trying to walk back or obscure that split, though, Pence is leaning into his decisive role on Jan. 6.
- When excerpts of a new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa released this week reported that Pence asked former Vice President Dan Quayle about ways to avoid certifying the election results, a spokesperson called the reporting a "gross embellishment."
- Pence, he said, "never wavered in his commitment to the Constitution."