A Federal Elections Committee filing for a man with a PO box in Indiana named Mike Pence made it look like the former vice president was officially declaring a 2024 presidential campaign on Monday.
The document stated that Pence was running for in the 2024 presidential election, and listed the mailing address for his campaign committee in Anderson, Indiana.
It turns out that the filing, which some in the media thought was released by former Vice President Mike Pence, was actually filled out by somebody else.
Odd story.
An FEC filing shows Mike Pence filed to run for President in 2024. Various outlets have since written headlines with the news.
Now, Pence’s team says it wasn’t him, that he didn’t file. pic.twitter.com/cjHnhRsUHm
— Bobby Burack (@burackbobby_) December 26, 2022
A spokesman for Mike Pence confirmed that the former vice president did not file for a White House run.
Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today. https://t.co/DV7PjhTD6X
— Devin O'Malley (@devin_omalley) December 26, 2022
It remains unclear who actually filed the documentation, with many speculating that it was done as a prank, according to The Western Journal.
As the outlet pointed out, the submission references a “Mike Richard Pence.” This technically includes a different first name than that of the former vice president, “Michael.”
Pence team says it isn't real so I deleted my other tweet.
But it begs the question of who made a Mike Pence for President filing with the FEC today lol https://t.co/yrzRs602Sv
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 26, 2022
Although it remains true that Pence has not declared or filed an intention to make a White House run, the former vice president has said he is strongly considering doing so.
Upon being asked in November if he will run for president in 2024, Pence told a reporter, “well we’re be giving it consideration in our house. Prayerful consideration.”
“So if you decide to run and he’s up there, so be it?” the reporter asked.
“So be it,” answered a chuckling Mike Pence.
This remains consistent with previous statements by Pence about his relationship with the former president. The former vice president told PBS Newshour that he and Trump have “parted amicably,” saying that when Trump “returned in the months later to the rhetoric he was using before Jan. 6, once again arguing that I had the right to overturn the election, I just decided it’d be best that we went our separate ways, and we have.”
The Western Journal noted that should Pence make the run, he would be one of the very few former vice presidents in U.S. history to face off in a primary against the head of state they once served under.
A previous example was seen with the former vice president under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Nance, who failed to beat Roosevelt during the 1940 Democrat primary.
Pence would likely face a tough battle should he ultimately decide to challenge the former president. Various surveys show Trump trouncing Pence in a hypothetical 2024 primary battle; RearClearPolitics put his polling average at 7% compared to Trump’s 47%.
