Former Vice President Mike Pence officially filed paperwork to run for president Monday as he prepares to kick off his campaign in Iowa later this week.
Mike Pence for President was registered with the Federal Election Commission ahead of a pair of Wednesday events in the Hawkeye State: a planned kickoff speech in the afternoon followed by a CNN town hall in the evening.
The former Indiana congressman and governor also plans to campaign in all 99 Iowa counties, hoping to court a large portion of the state’s evangelical voting base.
The 63-year-old Pence will face off with his former running mate Donald Trump for the GOP nomination — along with a growing list of candidates including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Pence currently sits in fourth place in the Republican primary with an average of 3.8% support — behind Trump (53.2%), DeSantis (22.4%) and Haley (4.4%), according to RealClearPolitics.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are also expected to announce their candidacies this week. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu declined to run Monday after teasing a 2024 bid earlier this year.
The GOP’s nominee will likely face off with President Biden next year, despite Democratic primary challenges from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson.
Trump, 76, has criticized Pence for refusing to decertify the 2020 Electoral College results in key states on Jan. 6, 2021, while his former vice president has insisted he had no authority to take such a drastic step.
A pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol later that day to try to stop the certification, and some were heard in video footage chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”
Pence has accused Trump of uttering “reckless words” on the day of the Capitol riot, endangering the then-vice president and his family.
However, Pence has also maintained that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has engaged in a “political prosecution” in bringing charges against Trump in a separate criminal investigation over “hush money” payments ahead of the 2016 election.
Committed to America, a super PAC supporting Pence, launched in May.
Pence previously served from 2013 to 2017 as governor of Indiana, and from 2001 to 2013 as one of the most conservative Republican members in the US House of Representatives.