Former Vice President Mike Pence filed for the White House on Monday, according to documents released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and will therefore challenge his former boss Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries.
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The conservative will formalize Wednesday, the day of his 64th birthday, his entry into the running with a video, then a rally in Des Moines, Iowa and will end the day on a set of the CNN channel, according to his relatives.
He joins an already crowded arena of Republican candidates, with a dozen contenders who, for the time being, are all well behind in the polls by the former president.
Evangelical Christian, fierce opponent of abortion, Mike Pence had helped Donald Trump conquer the religious right by being his running mate during the 2016 presidential campaign. After years of unwavering loyalty, he changed his tone following the assault on the Capitol, which rocked American democracy on January 6, 2021.
That day, Mike Pence led, as vice president, the session in Congress, during which the elected officials had to certify the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election of 2020. Although he only has a role formal, Donald Trump had insisted that he refuse to validate the election of the Democrat.
The former governor of Indiana did not comply, which earned him strong enmity among the billionaire’s supporters. Entering the Capitol by force, some had called to “hang” Mike Pence, who had to hide in a hurry.
He has since ruled that the president’s words were “irresponsible” and “endangered” him.
The break between the two men jeopardizes the chances of Mike Pence, whom many activists loyal to Donald Trump continue to consider a “traitor”. The man with the wise white lock peaks around 3.8% of voting intentions, far behind the former president (53.2%), according to the average of the latest polls carried out by the RealClearPolitics site.
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He is also outdistanced by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (22.4%), who is also betting on a very conservative speech, but in a more offensive tone, as well as a hair by the former ambassador to the UN. Nikki Haley (4.4%).
However, he has been preparing his candidacy for months. After releasing a book titled “So Help Me God” (“May God help me”, untranslated), the former radio host criss-crossed the country, multiplying speaking engagements in states that could make a difference. in the Republican primaries.