Opinion | Why Run for President When You Know You Can’t Win? – By Kristin Tate (The Messenger) / Nov 2, 2023
Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his exit from the presidential sweepstakes this past weekend in a dignified way. Rather than dragging on a clearly ailing campaign and asking for millions more dollars in campaign donations, he called it quits. However, Pence’s exit also highlights what appears to be a new trend in running for president: doing it for the sweet, sweet grift.
Not every candidate in the past several presidential election cycles has done so maliciously. Those who seek the White House tend to have the ego necessary to believe that they have a legitimate shot at victory, even if it is small. But there is a definite subset of candidates who seem to be running for future on-air commentary positions or, perhaps, to benefit personally from their campaign war chests. Today the notoriety of seeking the White House well outweighs the shame of losing the race. The old joke used to be that a certain number of Democratic and Republican candidates for president were really auditioning for vice president or for the next Cabinet (Pete Buttigieg, anyone?).
One of the chief ways that running for president can pay off is through political donations. Seeking a national office is a great way to build up a campaign treasury that could be used for personal use or for a future, unrelated campaign. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) states that using campaign funds for personal use is prohibited, but there are numerous ways around that if you are shrewd and unscrupulous enough.
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