Mike Pence Files Candidacy for 2024 Presidential Election: Challenges Trump as Former Boss

The former Republican vice-president filed his candidacy with the American electoral authorities on Monday, challenging his former boss Donald Trump.

Republican Mike Pence filed his candidacy for the 2024 US presidential election with the country’s electoral authorities on Monday, several US media reported, including CNN. Mike Pence is expected to officially launch his candidacy for the Republican nomination at a rally in Iowa on Wednesday, the day of his 64th birthday.

Donald Trump’s vice-president thus launches a challenge to his former boss and now opponent. His entry into the running sets the stage for an unpredictable battle between the former president who helped spark an insurgency to cling to power during the January 2021 Capitol assault and Mike Pence who stood at the gap.

A “traitor” for activists loyal to Donald Trump

This evangelical conversationalist, however, never attacked the personality of Donald Trump and repeated several times that he was proud of the record of their administration. A fierce opponent of abortion, Mike Pence helped Donald Trump conquer the religious right by being his running mate during the 2016 presidential campaign.

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But the break between the two men compromises 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 at 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 site. RealClearPolitics.

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 UN ambassador Nikki Haley (4.4%).