Mike Pence.Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Former Vice PresidentMike Pencefiled paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Monday declaring his 2024 candidacy for president.
On Wednesday, he plans to host a campaign launch — which was announced in a botched media advisory that initially failed to include a date — coinciding with his 64th birthday and the day of his scheduled town hall on CNN.
Pence has long been hinting at a presidential run, raising the not-yet-answered question of whether he can capitalize on growing division within the Republican Party to surpass Trump in polls.
Ininterviews,public appearances, and amemoirabout his handling of theJan. 6 Capitol riots, Pence has attempted to distance himself from Trump, pointing the finger at the former president for some of their administration’s chaos.
With Trump’s legal and political baggage still following him intohis 2024 campaign, Pence has portrayed himself as a calmer, more rational alternative for voters with firmly conservative values.
Donald Trump and Mike Pence in April 2020.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Pence served as the governor of Indiana — a position he held for four years — resigning days before he was sworn in as vice president in 2017.
Prior to entering state politics, Pence was a longtime member of the U.S. House. He’d run unsuccessfully for Congress in 1988 and 1990, ultimately getting elected in 2000. Throughout the ’90s, he hosted a syndicated radio talk show in Indiana calledThe Mike Pence Show, referring to himself as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.”
source: people.com
