DES MOINES, Iowa – Mike Pence is betting his presidential ambitions on Iowa, launching a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in Des Moines on Wednesday, making him the first vice president in modern history to challenge his former running mate.
Pence’s campaign will also put to the test the party’s hunger for a socially conservative, mild-mannered, and sincerely religious candidate who has spoken out against the populist tide that has swept through his party under former President Donald Trump. And it will determine if Pence has a political career after Jan. 6, 2021, with a large part of Republican voters still believing Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that Pence had the authority to overturn the results.
Pence and his advisers regard Iowa, the first state on the Republican primary calendar, as critical to his prospective road to the nomination. Its caucus-goers include a sizable number of evangelical Christian voters, whom they consider as Pence’s natural base. They also believe Pence, who has served in Congress and as governor of Indiana, is a good personality match for the Midwestern state.
“We believe the path to victory runs through Iowa and all of its 99 counties,” said Scott Reed, co-chair of a super PAC formed to assist Pence’s candidacy last month.