Commission certifies Mike Pence eligible to receive federal matching funds
On May 16, 2024, the Commission certified that Mike Pence is eligible to receive federal matching funds in connection with seeking the Republican Party nomination for president for 2024.
Certification of eligibility
To become eligible for matching funds, candidates must submit Candidate and Committee Agreements and Certifications, as well as raise a threshold amount of $100,000 by collecting $5,000 in 20 different states in amounts no greater than $250 from any individual. Other requirements to be declared eligible include agreeing to an overall spending limit, abiding by spending limits in each state, using public funds only for legitimate campaign-related expenses, keeping financial records, and permitting an extensive campaign audit.
Based on documents received on October 12, 2023, October 31, 2023, and December 28, 2023, Mike Pence and Mike Pence for President (MPFP) fulfilled the agreement and certification requirements. Based on the remaining documentation submitted on April 24, 2024, contributions from the following states were verified for threshold purposes: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. All of the materials included with this submission may be viewed here. Based on Pence’s initial threshold submission, the Commission has certified to the United States Treasury that Mike Pence and MPFP are entitled to an initial payment of $100,000. Once declared eligible, candidate committees may submit additional matching fund requests to the Commission monthly by dates established in the Federal Register notice at 88 Fed. Reg. 31265 (May 16, 2023).
Date of ineligibility
The Commission also made an initial determination that Pence’s date of ineligibility was October 28, 2023, the date he publicly announced he was suspending his campaign for President. Under the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act and Commission regulations, presidential primary candidates who are no longer actively campaigning in more than one state may continue to request public funds to pay off campaign debts until the first Monday of March of the year following an election.
The Commission has provided Pence and MPFP the legal and factual reasons for the initial determination of his date of ineligibility and provided an opportunity for Pence and MPFP to respond to the initial determination. The Commission will consider any timely submitted response when making a final date of ineligibility determination.
The presidential public funding program is financed through the $3 check-off that appears on individual income tax returns. The program has two elements: matching payments to participating candidates during the primary campaign and grants available to nominees to pay for the general election campaign.