Former Vice President Mike Pence believes focusing on the 2020 election, during which he and his running mate, former President Donald Trump, lost to President Joe Biden, was "not a prescription for success" in the 2022 midterm elections.
Questioning the 2020 election was something of a requirement for those who enjoyed the approval of the former president. Several of Trump's endorsed candidates ultimately lost in pivotal races during the 2022 midterm elections after beating out other, perhaps more palatable, Republicans in their respective primaries.
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In a book released after his bid to be the Republican nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania was squashed by Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Trump, David McCormick alleged that Trump endorsed his primary opponent days after he refused to say that the 2020 election was stolen.
According to the Pennsylvania Republican, Trump said, "You can't win unless you say the election was stolen."
Shortly after the 2022 races, Trump blamed the “abortion issue” for the Republican Party's relative under-performance. "poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters," he wrote at the time, also shifting blame to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for not supporting his senate candidates enough.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Pence expressed disappointment in Trump for this suggestion. "To see my former running mate now blaming the pro-life movement for election losses in the midterms and the saying that certain state legislation is 'too harsh,' I think is a departure from the commitment to the right to life that was at at the center of our administration," he said.
According to him, "I believe when you look across the country that those candidates that stood with equal measure of principle and compassion on the right to life did quite well."
Oz ultimately lost to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in the general election. Additional Trump picks, such as Blake Masters, Kari Lake, Doug Mastriano, and Don Bolduc, among others, similarly lost in the general election after Trump's endorsement lifted them to wins in their primaries.
Pence believes that he and other Republicans ought to focus on more pressing issues for Americans right now, rather than past elections.
When it comes to the economy, which is ranked as the most important issue for voters in 2024, he explained that "the American people are hurting. I mean, two thirds of the American people are living paycheck to paycheck."
According to a recent Quinnipiac University National Poll, 30% of Americans believe that the economy is the top issue when it comes to selecting a president in 2024. The issue is followed by preserving democracy in the United States, with 27%, and abortion, with 9%.
Pence further hit the Biden administration for high spending, "the worst inflation in 40 years," as well as high prices for gasoline and increased utility costs. "I think taking that case, to the people of this country, is how we prevailed in many of those competitive midterm races," Pence said. "But it's all about being focused on the future. elections are always about the future."
The Indiana Republican reiterated that "it was candidates that were focused on the past — candidates who were focused on re-litigating the past, particularly the 2020 election, that did not fare well."
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This is "because the American people long for principled, conservative leadership that will stand and articulate a vision for how we restore American prosperity and security going forward," he explained.
According to Pence, "They want to see they want to see leaders that are focused on the disastrous policies of the Biden administration and how we turn this country around and restore prosperity and security," and not the focus that Trump and his selected candidates adopted.