Hypothetically ... Who would be easier to defeat Trump or Pence?

[SCNCmod]

Hypothetically ...

1) Who would be easier to defeat Trump or Pence (if for whatever reason Trump didn't serve out the entire 4 years)?

2) Who would you rather have as President... Trump or Pence?


As a Dem- I have sort of conflicting answers.  I think Pence would be easier to defeat... but I would actually probably prefer a Trump President... to a Pence President.

[Figueira]

1. Probably Pence, but it depends greatly on why Trump isn't running. If he died in a tragic accident I can see a sympathy vote for Pence; if he resigned in the biggest scandal ever Pence probably loses.
2. No difference. They're equally terrible.

[Famous Mortimer]

Pence is a generic Republican who would have no chance of carrying MI, PA, and certainly not WI.

[Devout Centrist]

Neither. The Republican Party will rule forever.

[Mr. Smith]

1 depends too much on who the Dems nominate in turn.

But as for two, Trump is definitely better.

[Xing]

1. It would totally depend on the circumstances. Overall, probably Pence.

2. I'm not sure who I think would be worse, since I despise them both for very different reasons.

[Hindsight was 2020]

Hypothetically Pence as running aganist him means Trump has likely either has resigned, impeached, or so unpopular he's pulling an LBJ. So that puts Pence in a Ford '76 position which I dou he could escape from.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

1) Who would be easier to defeat Trump or Pence (if for whatever reason Trump didn't serve out the entire 4 years)?

2) Who would you rather have as President... Trump or Pence?

1) Pence, I think. He's a normal politician who would be predictable and thus easier to handle as competition.
2) Pence. I'd rather have a right-winger who works within the system and respects institutions like the intelligence community than a rabble-rouser who may or may not be blackmailed by Russia

[Medal506]

Pence is a generic Republican who would have no chance of carrying MI, PA, and certainly not WI.

Trump is also a generic Republican if you think about it. But I actually would have to disagree. I think after Trump carried those states they will probably stay Republican for a few decades

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Pence is a generic Republican who would have no chance of carrying MI, PA, and certainly not WI.

Those states wouldn't have voted Republican if someone besides Hillary was running.

[(Still) muted by Kalwejt until March 31]

Hypothetically ...

1) Who would be easier to defeat Trump or Pence (if for whatever reason Trump didn't serve out the entire 4 years)?

2) Who would you rather have as President... Trump or Pence?


As a Dem- I have sort of conflicting answers.  I think Pence would be easier to defeat... but I would actually probably prefer a Trump President... to a Pence President.

-Pence would do very well in his home state against any Democratic presidential challenger. The rest of the Midwest, I'm not sure. Michigan can hardly be considered Hoosier country, and is barely heartland (most of its counties went for Barack Obama in 2008). Pence is a fine debater and general talker, leading to him having greater personal appeal, but I doubt he'd be as innovative as Trump was in his proposals, leading to campaign stagnation (cf., Romney 2012, whom I predicted would obviously lose the moment he became the GOP frontrunner in 2011). Pence would certainly be a smarter campaigner than Mitt Romney, though, so I'm sure he would have done better against Obama in 2012. Trump has a natural economic-populist appeal to blue-collar Whites (he won many Bernie Sanders voters, which Pence would be incapable of winning), which Pence does not (Pence just has a folksy charm Trump lacks). Ultimately, Pence would probably perform better as an incumbent than if he was running while Trump was still President and would even overperform Trump running for President as an incumbent. Pence running while Trump was still President, though, would probably lose.

I would much prefer Trump to Pence. Trump seems like the sane man in the room, who understands deals and rejects Bushian foolishness. He has genuine common sense. He feels the pulse of the nation. Pence is incapable of this -tone-deaf.

[pbrower2a]

Pence would be more likely to lose because he is out of touch with the culture of more Americans.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

I really think people are forgetting how much America hated Hillary.  If Hillary couldn't win a landslide victory against a man for whom it was considered a great accomplishment when he went a week without saying anything stupid or offensive, I can't imagine her winning against someone who is more respectable.

[Ljube]

1) Pence, of course.
2) Trump, of course.

[JoshPA]

A blue dog democrat.

[Kringla Heimsins]

Pence is unsympathetic and uncharismatic. He would be way easier to defeat.

I would also rather see him President than Trump. Because if Trump is gone, so is Steve Bannon. And that man is really dangerous and despicable.

[bagelman]

1) Pence, of course.
2) Trump, of course.

[NeederNodder]

Pence is a generic Republican who would have no chance of carrying MI, PA, and certainly not WI.

He'd probably even lose Indiana too lol.

[nicholas.slaydon]

Pence.

[Sir Mohamed]

1. Lean towards Pence since he’s less charismatic and less energizing the base. But he would be tougher to beat if the Trumpster is deeply unpopular and Pence governs smoothly and scandal-free. Would also depend under which circumstances (death, impeachment or resignation) he ascends to the presidency and when (early or later in the term).

2. Pence, easily. I virtually disagree with him on every major issue, but he understands the job and takes it seriously. He has no erratic personality with authoritarian tendencies, no obsession with autocrats, respects the intelligence community and is behaving in an appropriate manner.

[publicunofficial]

Is Pence is president due to Trump resigning or being impeached, then Pence will hardly stand a chance. The election would be more of a referendum on Trump than on Pence's merits, a la Ford in 1976.

If Trump is dead, then Pence is probably harder to beat.