People can say it was about 1/6, but even before the election it became clear that Pence’s only shot in 2024 would be if Trump was still President.
Pence was a wuss, but he was probably picked to balance Trump (for people who didn’t like Trump’s style).
However, he was worse than useless. Trump put him in charge of the “pandemic response,” and between Pence and Fauci, they were the ones running the country. Trump made a few feeble attempts to resist, but he should never have let the two of them get away with it. If Trump had nipped it in the bud and just said no to Fauci’s wacky plans, none of the last two years of misery would have happened. And Trump would have been reelected in a landslide too big for the Dems to cheat.