After months of teasing a presidential run, former vice president Mike Pence is ready to jump in the Republican primary next week in Iowa.
Pence joins a quickly growing field of candidates that includes his former boss Donald Trump, Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R), Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, and others.
Until now, Pence has failed to make much of an impression, with many seeing DeSantis as the only viable alternative to Trump.
But DeSantis' limping campaign launch has Pence and others seeing opportunity.
DeSantis entered the race last week after months of steadily losing momentum. The first poll since DeSantis declared his candidacy last week found the governor behind Trump by 34 points.
While DeSantis has sought to emulate Trump's brash political style, Pence has signaled he plans to run as a more traditional Republican, with an emphasis on Christian values and hawkish foreign policy.
“There is a lot of overlap between Iowa caucus-goers and Mike Pence in terms of principles, values, faith, and this will be the first of many, many stops and visits to the state,” a source close to Pence told Breitbart.
The Pence source said that the former vice president plans to hit all of Iowa's 99 counties, signaling the importance Pence is placing on the critical early state.
"The plan is to hit each of Iowa’s 99 counties,” the Pence source told Breitbart. “Nobody else is going to do it. A lot of people are going to talk about doing it, but nobody else will do it. That’s Mike Pence—he’s all action, he’s not just about the talk."
The former vice president and Indiana governor has sharply criticized his former boss, holding him personally liable for placing him and his family in danger during the January 6th riot.
Pence alienated many Republicans, and Trump, when he refused to send the 2020 election back to the states, something Pence says he had no lawful power to do.
It remains to be seen if Pence can overcome his relative unpopularity within the party, or if any Republican, for that matter, can take down Trump.
A new poll found that voters believe Trump is the Republican most likely to defeat Joe Biden, undercutting the argument from Trump's challengers that he has become a liability.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is expected to enter the race next week as well, and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin (R) has left the door open.
