Former Vice President Mike Pence filed his candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission on Monday morning, joining a Republican field that includes former President Donald Trump.
Pence served as the nation’s 48th vice president. He will have his formal kickoff event in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, which is also the day he turns 64 years old.
Pence served as the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013. He was vice president from 2017 to 2021.
He has been to Alaska several times during his term as vice president, mostly for brief fuel stops on his way overseas. But he and his wife Karen are big supporters of Samaritan’s Purse, and have traveled north to show their support to military veterans and their spouses at Operation Heal Our Patriots at Lake Clark, where the organization, founded by Franklin Graham, hosts veteran couples at Samaritan Lodge. The Pences were out at the lodge in the summer of 2022.
Pence sets up an interesting contrast with Trump, as both of them went through the Jan. 6 protest of the certification of the 2020 election, when objectors to the certification took over the U.S. Capitol. Conservatives have differing viewpoints on the role of Trump vs. the role of Pence, who has criticized Trump for his actions that day. Some conservatives say Pence should have overturned the election of Biden, but he maintains he had no credible basis to do so.
“President Trump was wrong,” Pence told dinner guests at the Gridiron Dinner, a formal event in March. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Pence is a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and transgender ideology being pushed on children. He has been laying the foundation for his candidacy for months, with appearances in the early voting states, such as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
With Trump holding a strong lead among conservative voters, Pence may serve as a reminder to voters that there were are other considerations regarding Trump’s record. It could create drama and distraction from the rest of the GOP field, which includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, commentator Larry Elder, Dallas businessman Ryan Binkley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also planning to announce on Wednesday, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is planning to announce this week.
Photo: Mike and Karen Pence with a military couple at Samaritan Lodge in the summer of 2022.
