Just two years after their time in the White House came to an end with an uprising at the U.S. Capitol and Pence running for his life, the former vice president Mike Pence filed paperwork on Monday announcing his bid for the presidency in 2024, setting up a challenge to his former employer, Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, his 64th birthday, Pence, the nation’s 48th vice president, will formally begin his campaign for the Republican nomination with a video and kick-off event in Des Moines, Iowa, according to people familiar with his plans. He was going to submit paperwork to the Federal Election Commission announcing his candidacy.
Pence supporters see a path for a trustworthy conservative who supports many of the policies of the previous administration but without the continual turbulence, even if Trump is now leading the early race for the nomination and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is constantly polling in second.
Pence nomination would, in many ways, be a return to beliefs long associated with the Republican establishment but abandoned as Trump rebuilt the party in his image. Despite the fact that he frequently praises the accomplishments of the “Trump-Pence administration,” According to aides, Pence is the lone conventional conservative in the race and has warned against the party’s rising populist trend.
Pence, a fervent opponent of abortion rights, favors a federal ban on the surgery and has advocated against school policies that protect transgender students.
While both Trump and DeSantis have opposed reforms to Social Security and Medicare, he has suggested that they should be considered in order to make the programs solvent. He has also slammed DeSantis for his developing spat with Disney.
Along with calling out “Putin apologists” in the party who are unwilling to oppose the Russian president, he also stated that the United States should back Ukraine more vigorously against Russian aggression.
