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(CNN) — Former Vice President Mike Pence will launch his 2024 presidential campaign on June 7 with an announcement video and a speech in Iowa, two sources familiar with the plans tell CNN.
The announcement, first reported by NBC News, will take place ahead of a CNN town hall with Pence later that evening at Grand View University in Des Moines.
Pence’s presidential bid will pit him against his former boss and running mate, former President Donald Trump, who’s seeking a second term and is for now the early frontrunner.
His announcement in Iowa, rather than his home state of Indiana, signals the level of importance he’s placing on the state that still holds the first caucus in the GOP nomination process.
Pence’s allies said earlier this month that the super PAC launched in support of his candidacy, Committed to America, would organize in all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Sources said at the time to expect Pence to spend more time in the Hawkeye State in the coming months.
Before being tapped to be Trump’s vice president in the 2016 election, Pence was Indiana governor and a former US congressman, including serving as House Republican Conference chair.
Pence, in recent months, has been on the road promoting his memoir, “So Help Me God,” while also testing a presidential bid. In his speeches and events, he has focused on a need for fiscal responsibility and reforms to entitlement programs, support for Ukraine in its war with Russia as well as pushing his anti-abortion stance and railing against “radical gender ideology.”
Last week, he told local Iowa TV station KCCI that he has a “clear sense of our calling” on a potential presidential bid.
Pence faces a tough path to the GOP nomination, but his politics aligns with evangelical Christians, a vital voting bloc for Republicans. He has been polling in single digits, with Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who jumped into the race last week, leading the field.
Pence and Trump had a falling-out after Trump pressured Pence to block the certification of the 2020 election results and an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, endangered Pence and his family.
Pence would join a growing field of Republicans looking to take on President Joe Biden, who’s running for a second term. Along with Trump and DeSantis, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, US Sen. Tim Scott, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are also vying for the GOP nomination.
CNN reported that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to announce his 2024 candidacy on Tuesday. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also is set to make an announcement next Wednesday in Fargo, in a sign pointing toward a possible Republican presidential bid, a source familiar with the plans told CNN.
