HUDSON, N.H. (AP) \u2014 They acknowledge\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0dominance, but weary Republicans across\u00a0New Hampshire\u00a0\u2014 even inside the governor\u2019s office \u2014 are fighting to stop the former president from winning the first-in-the-nation primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For now, however, they\u2019re relying on little more than hope and prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look no further than\u00a0Mike Pence, Trump\u2019s former vice president, who repeatedly appealed to voters\u2019 faith this week as he tried to resurrect his anemic presidential campaign while courting a few dozen voters in a former state lawmaker\u2019s backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI truly do believe that different times call for different leadership,\u201d Pence told his modest crowd. \u201cI know you all are going to do your job, because I have faith. I have faith in the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than a dozen high-profile Republicans are looking to New Hampshire, the state long known for shining on political underdogs, to help stop Trump\u2019s march toward a third consecutive Republican presidential nomination. But so far, none has cracked the veneer of inevitability that has followed Trump through the early states on the presidential primary calendar despite \u2014 or perhaps because of \u2014 his mounting legal challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A significant portion of the Republican electorate remains open to a new presidential nominee with less baggage than Trump. But months after many of them entered the race, there is little sign that the former president\u2019s rivals are breaking through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strongest Trump alternative on paper, Florida Gov.\u00a0Ron DeSantis, has already begun to lay off staff amid unexpected financial challenges and stagnant poll numbers. Others have failed to break out of the single digits in early polls. And as Trump braces for the possibility of a third criminal indictment, his hold on the party appears to be stronger than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence, perhaps more than anyone, has been dragged down by the powerful undertow of Trumpism that has reshaped the political landscape for much of the last decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence barely registered in a new poll released this week by the University of New Hampshire. And he admitted this week that he does not yet have enough donors to qualify for the opening presidential debate next month, an extraordinary position for a former vice president to find himself in. During multiple stops in New Hampshire this week, he appealed to voters to donate even $1 to boost his numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously, he wishes he was doing better,\u201d said New Hampshire Republican Gov.\u00a0Chris Sununu. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to find a better character and a better person than someone like Mike Pence. He\u2019s just such a great guy. But his message, for whatever reason, isn\u2019t quite resonating with folks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence has managed to draw the wrath of Trump loyalists and critics alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among those who dislike Trump, Pence is viewed as a Trump acolyte who enabled his bad behavior for four years. And those who love Trump blame Pence for not blocking the certification of\u00a0Joe Biden\u2019s\u00a0presidential victory on Jan. 6, 2021 \u2014 a power that the former vice president did not have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump loyalists infamously chanted, \u201cHang Mike Pence\u201d while storming the U.S. Capitol and his political standing within the Republican Party has never recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think Mike Pence is genuinely destroyed,\u201d said former New Hampshire GOP chair Jennifer Horn. \u201cHe cannot win. There\u2019s no circumstance and no race that Mike Pence will ever win. It\u2019s sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Hampshire, a state that has traditionally shied away from the type religious conservatism Pence espouses, would be an unlikely staging ground for a comeback for the evangelical Christian who launched his 2024 campaign in Iowa. Still, politicians of all stripes have managed to break through over the years in a state that has often rewarded those willing to invest time and attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former President\u00a0Bill Clinton\u00a0became the \u201ccomeback kid\u201d after finishing second here in 1992. The state also helped resurrect Republican\u00a0John McCain\u2019s\u00a0struggling campaign in 2008. Texas Sen.\u00a0Ted Cruz, a religious conservative like Pence, scored a strong second place finish in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the road to relevance for anyone not named Trump in 2024 will be steep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence is essentially trying to reinvent himself as he reintroduces himself to New Hampshire voters. He and his staff have embraced a new mantra: \u201cHe is well-known but not known well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At his first New Hampshire stop this week, Pence largely avoided talking about his years as vice president and did not utter Trump\u2019s name. He introduced himself this way: \u201cI\u2019m Mike Pence. I\u2019m from Indiana. And I\u2019m running for president.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence\u2019s message on the stump is a throwback of sorts to the GOP\u2019s conservative platform before Trump\u2019s big-government populism took over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He called for a muscular foreign policy, a recommitment to social conservative values and a sharp reduction in federal spending. He did not mention his support for a federal abortion ban. Breaking from Trump, he also endorsed changes to Social Security for people under 40 to ensure the government-backed safety net program is financially stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He spoke with authority, but Pence\u2019s political challenges loomed over his New Hampshire tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The host of Wednesday\u2019s event, former state Senate majority leader Bob Clegg, encouraged every attendee to donate $1 to the Pence campaign to ensure he reaches the 40,000 individual donor threshold set by the Republican National Committee to qualify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey can give more,\u201d Pence quipped with a smile. He later added, \u201cWe\u2019re working around the clock to make sure we get enough donors to be up on that debate stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite some chuckles, Pence\u2019s allies privately acknowledge that failing to qualify for the first GOP debate would be a political death sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence\u2019s national chairman, veteran Republican strategist Chip Saltsman, would say only, \u201cWe\u2019re getting there\u201d when asked how close the campaign was to the donor threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saltsman dismissed Pence\u2019s struggles as a byproduct of the crowded field, which includes wealthy candidates like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who offered donors gift cards, and others like DeSantis, whose allied super PAC raised more than $100 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of ebb and flow,\u201d Saltsman said. \u201cAnd one thing I know for a fact is I haven\u2019t seen a frontrunner in the summer make it to the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary in the winter yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sununu, the New Hampshire governor, is also betting on the weight of history to help stop Trump. He noted that primary voters typically wait until a few weeks before the primary to finalize their decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Hampshire\u2019s primary is still six months away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview, Sununu warned that Trump has no chance of winning the general election and would drag down the rest of the party with him if he\u2019s on the November ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping that most people come to their senses,\u201d Sununu said. \u201cThere\u2019s still plenty of time for this roller coaster ride to play out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Pence is seeking the assistance of a higher power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a nation of faith,\u201d he told the modest collection of primary voters gathered in Clegg\u2019s backyard. \u201cIf we will steer our party to a future built on those time-honored conservative principles that have carried our party to victory and to success for the American people over the last 50 years, and if we renew our faith in Him who has guided this great nation since they first set foot on Plymouth Rock \u2014 not too far from here \u2014 I truly do believe the best days for the greatest nation on earth are yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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