Pence busy campaigning for other GOP candidates

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Pence is hot on the campaign trail, attending fundraisers, opening campaign offices, making speeches and talking to voters.

But he's doing all those things for other candidates, raising cash for campaigns across the country while stockpiling political capital for himself that could pay off should he decide to seek higher office such as a 2012 White House run.

Pence, the No. 3 Republican in the House, has visited candidates in Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland in the last several months. He's held fundraisers for Indiana U.S. Senate hopeful Dan Coats and nearly half a dozen Indiana congressional candidates, and Pence volunteers have made phone calls and traveled the state supporting other candidates.

In his spare time, Pence has raised more than $1 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Pence said the busier-than-normal campaign season is needed because the stakes are so high in the Nov. 2 election.

"What we've been doing around Indiana and the country this year is of a much greater magnitude, but I believe that times call for it," he said.

"This is the best chance that Americans that cherish limited government, fiscal responsibility and personal responsibility have to turn our national government back in the direction of those traditional American principals."

Pence's schedule and fundraising prowess, along with a trip to Iowa this weekend and a recent first-place finish in a straw poll of social conservatives, have helped fuel rumors that he will make a run for president. Others have speculated he has his sights on becoming the speaker of the House, governor or a senator.

Whatever Pence decides to do, campaigning across the country raising money, and name recognition won't hurt, said Ray Scheele, a political science professor at Ball State University.

"He's doing all the right things for his future political ambition," Scheele said.

Pence said he'll consider his future after November.

"I'm someone who really believes in putting first things first," he said. "The 2010 elections are all we're thinking about."

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Pence should be paying more attention to creating jobs in his eastern Indiana district and spending less time on the road.

"While Congressman Pence is traveling across the country furthering his own career ambitions, Hoosiers here in Indiana are struggling just to get by," Parker said.

Understandably, state Democrats haven't spent resources going after the heavily Republican 6th District, where Pence is seeking his sixth term.

Pence faces ultimate underdog Barry Welsh, a Democrat who has run and lost to Pence twice before. Welsh, who received just 33 percent of the vote in his last campaign, gets no support from the Democratic Party and doesn't even have an official website. During the latest campaign finance reporting period, Welsh raised $115 and spent just $5.

Welsh acknowledged that defeating Pence would be the "upset of the millennium." But he said Pence isn't as committed to the district as he should be.

"He may be president of the United States someday, but it will be at the expense of taxpayers here," he said. "People need to wake up and realize his focus is on Iowa and New Hampshire and early primary states."

Scheele said Pence doesn't ignore his district, returning often to meet with voters. Pence is giving out thousands of yard signs and running a television commercial, which focuses on liberty and doesn't urge people to vote for him.

Pence said the campaign season is a chance to send a message — in this case, that conservative voters need to turn the country in a new direction.

"I hope it's also a rallying cry for people," Pence said.

Candidates who share Pence's conservative message and values hope his help will pay off on Election Day. Indiana state House candidate Kyle Hupfer recently attended a fair with Pence, walking around and talking with voters.

Voters may not know Hupfer, former director of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources. But many know Pence and his positions on the issues. That helps voters get an idea of the beliefs of state House candidates and others seeking office.

"He'll have a positive impact not only across the state but across the country," Hupfer said of Pence. "He clearly has been someone folks want to meet."