INDIANAPOLIS – Vice President Pence today postponed his Thursday  event on the McConnell tax plan in Indiana, the latest sign that Indiana’s GOP Senate primary has become so toxic that even the former governor has become afraid of being associated with it.

On the heels of yet another brutal GOP primary debate last night, event organizers for America First Policies announced this afternoon that their rally featuring Vice President Pence in favor of the McConnell tax plan would be rescheduled for May 18, ten days after the primary. Shortly afterward, the White House announced the former governor would attend a separate event with Governor Holcomb instead.

While America First has given no clear reason for the rescheduling, it’s hard to miss that within hours of another GOP debate, the event has moved from 12 days before the primary to 10 days afterward. It’s a clear indication that the former governor is trying to publicly distance himself from what the Washington Post recently called “the nastiest race in the country” in the final weeks before the election.

Had the America First event occurred on Thursday, however, it actually would not be the first time that Pence had gotten involved in the intra-party war. Despite Congressman Rokita’s campaign claiming that Pence told the Congressman he’d be “Switzerland” in the primary, a Pence-linked dark money group has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on behalf of Congressman Messer’s campaign.

“Vice President Pence’s decision to wait until after the May election to talk about the disastrous McConnell tax plan is a cowardly move by a man who doesn’t want to be associated with the toxic GOP in-fighting,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “The constant attacks between Congressmen Messer and Rokita and Rep. Braun have created such a nasty race that even the former Governor can’t run away from it fast enough.”

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