Former Vice President Mike Pence announced he’s running for president on Wednesday, setting up a battle for the Republican nomination with his former boss, Donald Trump.
In a launch video released ahead of his campaign kickoff later in the day in Iowa, Pence casts himself as a Reagan Republican seeking to return America to conservative principles.
“It would be easy to stay on the sidelines. But that’s not how I was raised,” he says in the video. “That’s why today, before God and my family, I’m announcing I’m running for president of the United States.”
Pence’s presidential bid places him in a unique position as he becomes the first vice president in modern history to challenge his old boss, who’s the current front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination. Though a loyal second-in-command to Trump, Pence broke with him by refusing to overturn the 2020 election results and presiding over Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021.
Pence argues in the video – which makes no mention of Trump and features no images of the former president – that “different times call for different leadership” and that the nation needs a leader “that will appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature.”
“We can bring this country back. We can defend our nation and secure our border. We could revive our economy, and put our nation back on a path to a balanced budget, defend our liberties and give America a new beginning for life,” Pence says.
After filing with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, Pence is officially launching his campaign in the early voting state of Iowa, which his team views as vital to him securing the nomination. He’ll participate in a CNN town hall in the state on Wednesday evening.
Pence – who’s been polling in the single digits – joins a growing…
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