Former Vice President Mike Pence filed the paperwork to run for the presidency, making him the latest Republican to challenge his one-time running mate — President Donald Trump.
The former governor of Indiana has been teasing his campaign for weeks, having publicly distanced himself from Trump since the 2020 election. His campaign paperwork was formally filed with the Federal Election Committee on June 5.
Prior to his time as governor, Pence was a six-term congressman who is believed to have a strong appeal to evangelical voters. He has already made trips to New Hampshire and Iowa.
Supporters of Pence established the “Committed to America” PAC in May to raise funds for his campaign.
“The PAC will focus on building a ground organization in early primary and caucus states and running paid advertisements to boost Pence’s popularity,” per Axios.
“We’re going to organize Iowa, all 99 counties, like we’re running him for county sheriff,” Scott Reed, the PAC’s co-chairman, told reporters. “This campaign is going to reintroduce Mike Pence to the country as his own man, not as vice president, but as a true economic, social, and national security conservative — a Reagan conservative.”
Reed managed former Kansas Senator Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. The PAC is also co-chaired by former Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas.
“The group’s executive director, Bobby Saparow, ran Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s successful campaign in 2022,” reports NPR. “The PAC eagerly pointed out that Kemp is known for defeating Trump’s handpicked candidate in that race by more than 50 points.”
Pence’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated since November of 2020. Pence told ABC News in March that Trump’s actions and statement regarding the protest at the Capitol on Jan. 6 “let me down” and that they have gone “separate ways.”
“I had actually hoped that he would come around in time, that he would see the cadre of legal advisers that he surrounded himself with led him astray, but he hasn’t done so,” Pence said during the interview. He added that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump “feels like a politically charged prosecution” and “tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country.”
Pence published a memoir, “So Help Me God,” in November of 2022 detailing her relationship with Trump. He wrote that he “had always been loyal” to Trump until Jan. 6, when he felt the president’s “reckless words had endangered [his] family and all those serving at the Capitol.”
“For four years, we had a close working relationship. It did not end well,” Pence wrote, per PBS.
In addition to Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson have launched campaigns ahead of their party’s primary. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are also hoping to secure the presidential nomination.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may also launch a presidential campaign this week.
