DES MOINES, Iowa – Former President Mike Pence on Monday filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that officially launches his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
The move comes ahead of an expected formal declaration of candidacy Wednesday in suburbs of Des Moines, Iowa’s capital city.
Addressing a crowd of roughly 1,000 Republican activists in the state that leads off the GOP presidential nominating calendar, Pence tease this past weekend teased a major announcement.
“Come this Wednesday, I’m announcing in Iowa, Pence said to cheers and applause as he spoke at Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride, her annual motorcycle ride and barbeque that benefits veterans.
This year Ernst’s gathering attracted all the declared Republican presidential candidates except former President Trump. Pence’s running mate in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections is the commanding front-runner in the GOP nomination polls as he makes his third straight White House run.
The former vice president, who joined Ernst on her motorcycle ride, was the only one of the 2024 speakers at the senator’s event who’s yet to launch a White House campaign, but that will change on Wednesday.