Former Vice President Mike Pence was polling ahead of four Republican presidential candidates when he dropped out.
Pence, who suspended his campaign on Saturday, will have his place in the history books thanks to his service as vice president and his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. But his early exit raises questions for the other GOP campaigns.
Pence was polling at 3.5%, per the RealClearPolitics polling average. That put him ahead of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (2.4%), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) (1.6%), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (0.6%), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) (0.6%).
None of those candidates have dropped out yet, though Christie predicted that more will soon. Christie says he’ll stay in the race at least through the New Hampshire primary, telling CNN, “I’m going to be ready to take on Donald Trump when people actually do start to vote.”