No one on former Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign team can be having a good time right now.

Pence, who according to FiveThirtyEight is nominally in third place in the GOP primary contest, has recently suffered not one, not two, but three setbacks, one of which is of grave concern.

With the release of the second-quarter fundraising totals by the Republican presidential candidates, it has become increasingly apparent that there are two strata of candidates: those who are ascending and those who are stagnating.

Identify the tier Pence currently occupies.

The New York Times reports that Pence’s campaign has raised a lackluster $3.9 million. The Committed to America super PAC contributes $2.7 million to the total amount.

Worse yet, Pence has failed to receive 40,000 individual contributions, a necessary threshold to qualify for the Republican primary debates.

Despite having that title and qualification, the former vice president has thus far underperformed. Pence and his staff undoubtedly hoped to be in the forefront of the Republican primary field, not at the bottom.

Speaking of those upper echelons, here are some rapid-fire numbers from the Times, just for comparison’s sake:

• Former President Donald Trump: Raised $35 million in the second quarter
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Raised about $20 million in the second quarter
• Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley: Raised $7.7 million in the second quarter (between her and “her affiliated committees”)
• South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott: Raised $6.1 million in the second quarter

(And yes, it’s pretty clear that Trump and DeSantis are in a tier of their own. In fact, Trump is in a tier by himself at the moment.)

As is often the case in life, when it rains, it floods, and Pence’s fundraising difficulties are by no means his only campaign concern.

The former vice president is currently dealing with a public relations disaster due to his widely publicized “that’s not my concern” remark from a Friday Republican forum in Iowa.

Tucker Carlson, a fiery conservative, hosted the event and exchanged barbs with Pence about his support for continued U.S. funding for Ukraine.

Sorry @charliekirk11. That is what we used to call FAKE NEWS. Here’s the full clip of my remarks if you’re interested: https://t.co/2O3UD76fIB pic.twitter.com/S6alSS92Rg

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) July 14, 2023

The event was hosted by conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson, who traded barbs with Pence about his support for continued U.S. funding for Ukraine.

Sorry @charliekirk11. That is what we used to call FAKE NEWS. Here’s the full clip of my remarks if you’re interested: https://t.co/2O3UD76fIB pic.twitter.com/S6alSS92Rg

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) July 14, 2023

Regardless of whether you believe the context Pence mentioned above makes a difference, this is still negative coverage, which Pence cannot afford at the present.

To add insult to political injury, Pence shortly went viral for something he had nothing to do with.

A video of a young girl hitting a male in the head with a water balloon was disseminated as though it depicted Pence. In reality, it was Bruce Blakeman, a New York county official.

Girl who hit Mike Pence in the head with a water balloon is being called a “hero” 🤣🎈 pic.twitter.com/gqYPSWj5Xa

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 14, 2023

Snopes verified the veracity of the video, but how much damage had already been done? Millions of people have viewed tweets asserting incorrectly that it was Pence.

So, certainly, Mike Pence has had a difficult few days.

If his campaign contributions do not take up speed shortly, he will find himself with unexpected leisure time.