One source familiar with the effort to recruit Pence tells National Review Online that while Pence “could have united the conservative movement,” his departure leaves a Republican field that “is never going to be as wide-open again.”

“In six years or ten years it’s going to be an incredibly full field: The 2012 field is the Washington Nationals. Subsequent fields will be the 1927 New York Yankees,” the source says.

“The question is: Does this cause people to rethink? Does this make Jim DeMint rethink? Does anyone who feels disappointed in the current field rethink? It’s never been easier or cheaper to communicate with millions of people.”