- Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence declared himself a candidate in the 2024 Republican race for the White House.
- Trump is currently leading the early fight for the nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis polling consistently in second.
- Pence will launch his campaign with a video and a speech, sources familiar with the situation told.
- Pence joins a growing field of Republican candidates, which includes Trump, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Doug Burgum and Chris Christie are also planning to enter the race, bringing the total number of Republican candidates into double digits.
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence declared himself a candidate in the 2024 Republican race for the White House, setting up a challenge to his former boss, Donald Trump, just two years after their time in the White House ended with an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Pence fleeing for his life.
While Trump is currently leading the early fight for the nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis polling consistently in second, Pence supporters see a lane for a reliable conservative who espouses many of the previous administration’s policies but without the constant tumult.
While he frequently lauds the accomplishments of the “Trump-Pence administration,” a Pence nomination in many ways would be a return to positions long associated with the Republican establishment but abandoned as Trump reshaped the party in his image. Pence has warned against the growing populist tide in the party, and advisers see him as the only traditional, Reagan-style conservative in the race.
Pence will launch his campaign with a video and a speech in the early nominating state of Iowa on Wednesday, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters last week.
Pence’s run pits him against front-runner Trump, whom he once loyally stood by but refused to back when the former president attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Pence joins a growing field of Republican candidates, which includes Trump, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is also planning to enter the race, according to a person familiar with Burgum’s plans. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is jumping into the race on Tuesday, bringing the total number of Republican candidates into double digits.
The number of candidates vying for the nomination concerns many Trump opponents inside the Republican Party who fear the anti-Trump vote could be split and hand the party’s nomination to the former president.
(With inputs from agencies)
