Mike Pence Officially Joins 2024 Republican Presidential Race; GOP Field Gets More Crowded

The Republican primaries are heating up as former Vice President Mike Pence officially joined the 2024 presidential race. He will join an already crowded field of Republicans as more GOP politicians are expected to make more candidacy announcements.

Pence reportedly filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to become a presidential candidate on Monday, officially joining the 2024 race, which already includes his former boss, ex-POTUS Donald Trump, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Arkansas Governor Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Pence, who served as Trump's VP and is the 48th vice president of the United States, will formally announce his 2024 run with a video and kickoff event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday. This also happens to be his 64th birthday, as the Associated Press pointed out.

While he was Trump's vice president, Pence had already fallen out with his former running mate after the events of January 6, where Trump urged his supporters to go after the then-VP. The pro-Trump January 6 rioters infamously shouted, "Hang Mike Pence!" as they took over the Capitol.

However, many political experts believe that Pence is still a longshot from getting the Republican nomination, with Trump getting the lion's share of the Republican votes with DeSantis polling in second, though Trump does have a double-digit lead over him.

While Pence may take some of the more conservative and evangelical elements of the Republican party, Trump's MAGA movement and DeSantis's culture war agendas have proven to be much more popular. However, unlike the other two, Pence has so far stayed away from scandals, as Trump faces multiple investigations while DeSantis runs the risk of dividing the country up even further with his policies.

More Republicans Expected To Announce Candidacy in 2024

With Pence and Christie already confirmed to run, more Republicans may announce their candidacies as well. They are expected to formally announce their respective candidacies later this week.

However, NPR pointed out that a third candidate might also announce his candidacy this week, and that is North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Much like Christie and Pence, as well as Hailey and Tim Scott, he is also considered a longshot, with the 2024 GOP primaries being seen as a 2-horse race between Trump and DeSantis.

However, a more crowded field might ultimately be more beneficial for Trump as the votes of anti-Trump Republicans will be divided among other candidates while he keeps his MAGA base secure.

New Hampshire Republican Governor Will Not Run in 2024

The theory that more candidates would be beneficial to Trump was recently echoed by New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu, who was one of the people projected to run for president in 2024.

However, the Republican governor begged off the race, announcing during a recent interview and in an op-ed that he would not run next year. He also implored other Republican candidates to have the "courage" to get out of the election because more candidates would largely favor Trump.

"I will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024," Sununu stated on social media. "The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help to ensure this does not happen."

According to the Associated Press, Sununu said that he would ultimately endorse whoever the Republican nominee is but stressed that the Republican Party must embrace a "course correction" away from Trump. "If he is the nominee, Republicans will lose again. Just as we did in 2018, 2020, and 2022," he warned.

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Written by: Rick Martin

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