Former Vice President Mike Pence officially entered the Republican primary for president on Monday, filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
Pence will follow the paperwork with a launch rally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa.
Despite being dropped by the Democratic Party for new states, the Iowa Caucus has retained its traditional role as the first state to host a Republican presidential contest.
Pence served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 before serving as governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017.
Pence’s rise to national prominence started in Indiana, where he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that conservative Christians hailed as a safeguard of religious liberty but critics dubbed a license for discrimination against LGBT citizens.
Pence was selected by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to serve as the vice-presidential nominee for the 2016 Republican ticket. Observers felt that Pence’s strong relationship with Christian conservatives would unite the Republican Party behind Trump’s campaign.
Pence served as Vice President from 2017 to 2021, where he remained a stalwart defender of the Trump presidency until after the 2020 election.
Trump and Pence fell out over Trump’s allegations of mass voter fraud and the congressional certification of the Electoral College vote and subsequent disturbance at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2020.
Pence is expected to rely on goodwill with evangelical Republicans, a sizeable bloc of Republican primary voters, to build a coalition for president.
Still, Pence will face a crowded field, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. He joins a race that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and radio host Larry Elder.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to announce his candidacy this week. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also is considering a run.
