Mike Pence's shadow campaign is failing, poll says he's no better than Trump

Conservative pollster Rasmussen Reports found that only 26 percent of likely voters say Pence would be better than Donald Trump; 45 percent said he would be worse. Skepticism about Pence cut across party lines, with only a quarter of Democrats, Republicans, and independents sharing the point of view that he would be an improvement over Trump.

As the Trump administration has become embroiled in scandals and failed political initiatives, Pence and his political operation have sought to distance themselves from Trump. Pence had his press flack issue a statement saying he wasn’t aware of the controversial meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Russian operatives. Then had the same official appear on Fox News to reassure their conservative audience that the scandal taint did not touch him.

The facts show Pence was right in the middle of Trump’s decisions, including the hiring of Michael Flynn, despite huge red flags on his foreign connections.

At the same time, Pence has been barnstorming the nation, appearing in key swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Florida for campaign-style events, sometimes with politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio in tow. Pence even has his own separate PAC to curry favor with members of Congress who could later endorse a presidential campaign.

But the polling from Rasmussen shows that it hasn’t been working. In fact, considering the history of conservative-leaning results from that pollster, Pence might be even less popular than it appears.

Pence needs his brand to be separated from Trump, but so far the country thinks they are two failures in a pod.