INDIANAPOLIS — Former Indiana governor and former Vice President Mike Pence has spent a lot of time in Iowa lately, campaigning for the Republican nomination for President.
But here in Indiana, he’s also trying to pick up more endorsements, and more donors for his campaign, with Pence still short of the 40,000 small donors needed to qualify for the debates later this summer.
Pence did recently get endorsed by his successor, Gov. Eric Holcomb and by Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, who was at his campaign launch in Iowa last month.
“I’m very grateful to have Governor Holcomb’s support, and also Speaker Todd Huston and other luminaries in the state of Indiana,” said Pence.
But this week, one of Pence’s opponents in the GOP primary is also getting support from a group of Indiana Republicans who are hosting a fundraiser Wednesday in Hamilton County for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
In a one-on-one interview Monday morning, we asked Pence: Was the DeSantis fundraiser a sign of a battle brewing between the two?
“No,” said Pence. “Look, it’s a free country and I’ve just been overwhelmed at the outpouring of support here in Indianapolis and in Fort Wayne.”
Pence has held fundraisers in both cities and has another scheduled later this week in Evansville.
“I’m happy to have any candidates come through Indiana and tell their story,” Pence said. “But the support we’ve gotten from people across Indiana is very humbling to me and I’m incredibly grateful and it’s really making it possible to be in this fight all across the country.”
But Pence has been critical of DeSantis for his stance on the war in Ukraine, which the Florida governor once called a ‘territorial dispute’ earlier this year.
“The war in Ukraine is not a territorial dispute,” Pence said. “It was an act of naked aggression by Vladimir Putin.”
Last month, Pence traveled to Ukraine and met with President Zelenskyy. This week, Pence said he supports the recent move to send cluster ammunition to Ukraine but also said the Biden administration needs to do even more.
“I think we give them what we need, they can fight and win, not only will Europe be more secure, the U.S. will be as well,” said Pence.
You can see more of our interview Sunday morning on this week’s edition of IN Focus at 8:30 a.m. on CBS4, and 9:30 a.m. on FOX59.
