Pence in 24 Hours: Booed, Outraised, Failed

Pence in 24 Hours: Booed, Outraised, Failed

It’s been a rough 24 hours for Governor Mike Pence.

1. BOOED – Pencewas booed Thursday night as he threw out the first pitch for the Indianapolis Indians. Watch the video here:

2. OUTRAISED – In a new report out Friday, Pence was outraised in the first quarter of 2016 by challenger John Gregg by a $1.9 million to $1.5 million margin. One-third of Pence’s $1.5 million came from a March 31 $500,000 bailout from the Republican Governors Association. (Story from the Indianapolis Star below)

3. FAILED – Friday’s new Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Indiana’s economy stalling under Mike Pence. According to the BLS, “In March 2016, 15 states had statistically significant over-the-month changes in employment, 14 of which were positive. … The only significant job decrease occurred in Indiana (-9,000).”

“It’s no wonder Hoosiers are booing Mike Pence,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “He’s taken his eye off the ball and let the economy stagnate while he pursues his ideological social agenda. And now he needs a $500,000 bailout from the RGA to even stay in the same ballpark as John Gregg in fundraising. That’s a bad sign for Mike Pence as this campaign kicks into high gear.”

Indianapolis Star story below:

Gregg outpaces Pence in first quarter fundraising

By: Tony Cook

Indianapolis Star

4/15/16

Democrat John Gregg raised more campaign cash than Gov. Mike Pence during the first quarter of the year.

Gregg raised nearly $1.9 million to Pence’s $1.5 million, according to the campaigns, which must file campaign finance reports today at noon.

The governor, bolstered by a single $500,000 contribution from the Republican Governors Association on the last day of the reporting period, still has more money in his campaign coffers than Gregg. Pence has nearly $7.7 million on hand, compared to $5.1 million for Gregg.

Gregg’s ability to out-raise a sitting governor is unusual given the inherent fundraising advantages of incumbents. But he has found strong financial support from labor unions and gay rights activists who are unhappy with the Pence administration’s policies.

Gregg has three times as much campaign money on hand as he did in 2012, when he narrowly lost the election to Pence by 3 percentage points. But overall, Pence has raised about $12 million for his re-election bid — more than double the $5.6 million Gregg has raised.

“With nearly $12 million raised for the cycle and over $7.6 million cash on hand, we are confident we will have the necessary resources to execute our campaign and are grateful for the continued investment by Hoosier individuals and job creators,” said Marty Obst, executive director of Pence’s campaign.

Tim Henderson, Gregg’s campaign manager, called the former House speaker’s fundraising total strong, “especially for a challenger.”

“While we will never have more money than Republicans in this state, we don’t need it to win,” he said. “We just need to stay close and that’s what we continue to do. It’s a very good sign for us.”

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