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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-an...813f8110c3.html

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Pence builds bridges, alone

He’s reaching out to the GOP establishment in hopes of uniting the party, but the establishment isn’t warming to Trump, and Trump isn’t helping.

By MATTHEW NUSSBAUM

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Mike Pence is on a mission to mend fences between recalcitrant Republicans and Donald Trump, but Trump isn’t helping him do it.

Pence is hoping his years in the upper echelons of Republican politics will help him win over Republicans still skeptical of their party’s nominee, but his bid has gotten little help from the top of the ticket. The plan for GOP outreach started with Pence, his aides confirm, and while Trump nominally supports the effort, he hasn’t taken an active part in it. Pence, not Trump, picks who gets meetings and phone calls, and when Pence does speak with fellow Republicans, Trump does not send along guidance or specific messages for his running mate to convey. The extent of Trump’s participation is to discuss with Pence some, but not all, of his meetings.

Asked about the outreach process, Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks said the Pence campaign would reply.

Trump’s lack of involvement hasn’t stopped Pence from trying to win over Trump skeptics. He met with his longtime friend Sen. Jeff Flake in Arizona, spoke by phone with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and left a voicemail for Ohio Gov. John Kasich (Kasich returned the call, but the two had not connected as of Tuesday morning). Pence told Flake that Trump is “a different guy in private than he is shown in public,” according to Flake.

So far, however, none of the men Pence contacted have warmed to Trump — Republican insiders say that, absent big changes from Trump, his running mate's outreach effort is unlikely to have much success.

“He's going to be a good soldier,” Rick Tyler, who worked for Cruz, said of Pence, acknowledging that reaching out to anti-Trump Republicans is part of the job. As to whether the overtures would work, however, Tyler had a simple answer: “No.”

Stuart Stevens, a top strategist for Mitt Romney in 2012 and a vocal Trump critic, was specific in what Pence could do to win over GOP skeptics: “My outreach plan would be to have Pence replace Trump. I think that would work.”

Trump’s troubles with the GOP establishment were profound even before he it became public that he was shaking up his campaign leadership with the addition of Stephen Bannon, formerly a top executive at Breitbart News whose withering attacks are directed equally at Democrats and the Republican establishment. (The other half of the staff shakeup, Kellyanne Conway’s elevation to campaign manager, may help Pence’s efforts and influence on the ticket, as she previously worked as a pollster for Pence.)

Pence’s support for even those Republicans who do not support Trump can have awkward consequences. When he was asked Tuesday at a New Mexico town hall why some Republicans, such as Gov. Susana Martinez, are not supporting the nominee, he responded by calling Martinez “a dear, dear friend” and “a great governor.” The crowd booed.

Pence has also made efforts with some GOP backers of Trump who have been less than enthusiastic in their support. He spoke by phone with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and set up an in-person meeting with Sen. John McCain in Arizona.

And Pence had more opportunities to evangelize on Trump’s behalf with fellow Republicans on Tuesday, when he made his way to Aspen, Colorado, to deliver a lunchtime address to the Republican Governors Association Summer Meeting. Among those in attendance at the meeting were Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, both of whom have said they will not support Trump. Martinez, who was a target of Trump’s ire earlier this year, was also in attendance, and spoke with Pence. Pence, who has served in the Indiana statehouse since 2013, has a personal rapport with many in attendance that Trump does not. And Pence, of course, has refrained from attacking his fellow Republicans.

Among some vehemently anti-Trump Republicans, however, no amount of Pence outreach can paper over their differences, leaving Pence searching for a consolation prize: keeping them from vocally opposing Trump, and depriving Hillary Clinton's campaign of more fodder from the anti-Trump wing of the GOP.

Even as Pence has made these efforts, Trump has continued to alienate his fellow Republicans, including by initially declining to endorse McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump’s addition of Brietbart editor Stephen Bannon as his campaign manager has the potential to further marginalize some moderate Republicans, which could make Pence's job even tougher. After the latest turmoil at the top of the campaign, Stevens said he sees more Republicans un-endorsing the candidate than actually coming on board. And the self-interest may continue to drive Republicans away from Trump as he languishes in the polls.

Even if his efforts fail to yield fruit, however, the outreach is a no-lose affair. Regardless of what it does to help Trump's campaign, it keeps Pence’s cachet with the establishment intact, protecting a potential political future should Trump fall short in November.

Pence will be in a powerful position if Trump loses in November, having built a national network and profile. He could potentially run for a Democrat-controlled Senate seat in Indiana in 2018, or aim for the GOP presidential nomination in 2020. But both advocating for Trump and avoiding being brought down by him makes for a difficult balancing act.

Tyler, the former Cruz campaign aide, was skeptical that respect for Pence would win Republicans over to Trump.

“Their own judgment is going to override Mike's efforts. They know what he’s trying to do,” Tyler said.

Stevens, again, was more blunt.

"Donald Trump is a ridiculous human being,” Stevens said Wednesday. "In life, when a good friend of yours suggests that you go out with a crazy person, that doesn’t make the person any less crazy. They’re still crazy.”