UNITED STATES: Mike Pence, a former vice president, and Chris Christie, a former governor of New Jersey, both intend to enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination for 2024 next week in an effort to mount improbable challenges to front-runner Donald Trump.
Christie, who served as an adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign before publicly criticising the former president, will formally launch his 2024 campaign on June 6, as per sources.
Pence, who angered Trump by declining to back his attempt to annul the results of the 2020 election, is expected to challenge his former employer on June 7, three sources with knowledge of the matter stated.
The governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, also intends to run on the same day as Pence, as per a source familiar with Burgum’s plans.
Many Trump critics within the Republican Party are concerned about the expanding Republican field. They worry that having several opponents will fragment the anti-Trump vote and give the party’s nomination to the former president, who can count on having the support of at least 30% of the Republican base.
In a Republican field with more than ten announced or nearly announced candidates, Trump holds a significant polling advantage. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who entered the campaign last week, is his nearest rival.
According to a poll average taken on Wednesday, Pence’s support among Republicans was less than 4%, while Trump’s support was 53%. Christie, to date, has hardly registered in the polls.
Pence will start his campaign in the early-nominating state of Iowa with a speech and a video, the sources stated.
Since Trump’s defeat in the election, Pence, a staunch social conservative who backed him throughout his whole presidency, has become more and more estranged from the former Republican president since his defeat in the election, saying Trump’s support of the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, put him and his family in danger.
Pence, who will be 64 on June 7, has continued to support many of Trump’s positions while positioning himself as a level-headed and consensus-focused alternative. Additionally, he has made a more direct appeal to the evangelical Christian population.
The success of his candidature will depend on his ability to win over enough supporters of Trump’s policies who are put off by the former president’s tone and behaviour to form a strong coalition.
Christie, 60, entered the race as a clear underdog after his 2016 presidential campaign, which was among a crowded field that also included Trump, failed to get traction. Only 1% of Republicans in an Ipsos survey conducted May 9–15 said he would be their preferred 2024 choice.
Christie will formally launch his campaign in the early-voting state of New Hampshire on Tuesday at a town hall at Saint Anselm College, as per sources.
Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, and Tim Scott, a Republican senator from the United States, have also entered the race.
Also Read: Criminal Trial of Trump Scheduled for March 2024, Coinciding with Full-Swing Campaign Season
