Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks to residents May 23 during a meet and greet in Des Moines, Iowa.
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss.
Pence will hold a kickoff event in Des Moines on Wednesday, his 64th birthday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity. He'll also release a video message as part of the launch.
His team sees early-voting Iowa as critical to his potential path to victory and advisers say he plans to campaign aggressively for the state's conservative, Evangelical Christian voters. The campaign is expected to lean heavily on town halls and retail stops aimed at showcasing Pence's personality as he tries to emerge from former President Donald Trump's shadow.
The week will be a busy one for GOP announcements. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is planning to launch his campaign Tuesday evening at a town hall event in New Hampshire and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will announce Wednesday in Fargo.
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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addresses a gathering April 20 during a town hall style meeting at New England College in Henniker, N.H.
Christie, who also ran in 2016, is planning to make the announcement at a town hall Tuesday evening at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The timing, which was first reported by Axios, comes after several longtime Christie advisers started a super political action committee to support his expected candidacy.
The Associated Press had previously reported that Christie was expected to enter the race “imminently.”
Christie has cast himself as the only potential candidate willing to aggressively take on former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the nomination. Christie, a former federal prosecutor, was a longtime friend and adviser to Trump, but broke with Trump over his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. Christie has since emerged as a leading and vocal critic of the former president.
Christie, who is currently polling at the bottom of the pack, dropped out of the 2016 presidential race a day after finishing sixth in New Hampshire’s primary.
