Twitter went into an uproar and multiple news outlets ran headlines suggesting that Mike Pence had entered the 2024 race on Monday evening after a “statement of candidacy” was filed with the FEC on his behalf, but a spokesperson for the former Vice President confirmed that Pence did not file paperwork to run for president.
“Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today,” spokesman Devin O’Malley tweeted, later suggesting that someone “pranked” pundits and journalists.
A spokesperson for the FEC said that they cannot comment on specific filings, but noted that the agency has a process for reviewing potentially fake or fictitious forms.
A statement of candidacy was filed for “Mr Mike Richard Pence” at 5:12 p.m. ET on Monday. Previous filings with the FEC have listed “Michael” as Pence’s first name, not “Mike.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence gives a speech on the stage of the Varkert Bazar cultural centre in Budapest on Sept. 23, 2021, during the fourth demographic summit.
(Attila Kisbendek/AFP via Getty Images)
While the former vice president has not filed to run in 2024 yet, Pence has been mulling the possibility during a nationwide book tour for his memoir “So Help Me God.”
“The fact that people are now getting to know me and my family, our faith, our conservative convictions better, has been a great source of encouragement as we think about the way forward and what our calling might be in the future,” Pence told Fox News Digital in New Hampshire on Dec. 13.
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If Pence does enter the race, he’ll be up against former President Donald Trump, who threw his hat in the ring last month and has relentlessly criticized the former vice president since leaving office.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force, in the Brady press briefing room at the White House, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Political pundits and Republican strategists have suggested that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley could also be viable candidates in 2024, though none of them have announced their intentions to run yet.
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Pence, meanwhile, said last month that he thinks Americans will have better options than Trump to choose from in 2024.
“I honestly believe that we’re going to have better choices,” Pence previously told Fox News. “I hear people saying that they would like us to move forward with leadership that will unite our country around our highest ideals and reflect the kind of respect and civility that the American people demonstrate to each other every day.”
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Max Thornberry contributed to this report.
