Former US vice-president Mike Pence entered the Republican presidential race as a challenge to Donald Trump

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Former US vice-president Mike Pence has declared himself a candidate in the 2024 Republican race for the White House, setting up a challenge to former president Donald Trump.

Key points:Mike Pence will launch his campaign in Iowa on WednesdayThe staunch social conservative is further distancing himself from his former boss Donald TrumpMr Trump dominates the field among potential Republican primary voters with 49 percent support with RonDeSantis next at 19 percent

Mr Pence’s campaign filed a declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Monday local time.

Mr Pence will launch his campaign with a video and a speech in the early-nomination state of Iowa on Wednesday, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters last week.

Mr Pence’s run pits him against front-runner Mr Trump, who he once staunchly supported but refused to back down when the former president tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

A staunch social conservative, the former Indiana governor has distanced himself further from Mr Trump, saying his encouragement of the rioters who attacked the USCapitol on January 6, 2021, was putting Mr Pence and his family at risk, who was in the building at the time.

The anti-Trump vote is split

Mr Pence joins a growing field of Republican candidates, which includes Mr Trump, Senator Tim Scott and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.

The growing number of contenders could pose obstacles for Mr Trump’s primary rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, party members and strategists said.

Donald Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination. (AP Photo: Evan Vucci, file)

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum also plans to enter the race on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with Mr Burgum’s plans.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie will enter the race on Tuesday, bringing the total number of Republican candidates to double digits.

Republicans who fear Mr Trump is too polarizing a figure to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden in 2024 worry that if too many candidates enter the party’s race, they will split the anti-Trump vote. .

That would allow the former president to secure the nomination, as he did in similar circumstances in 2016.

Mr Trump leads the field among potential Republican primary voters with 49 per cent support and Mr DeSantis trails at 19 per cent.

There is a yawning gulf between the front-runners and the rest of the field: Mr Pence has just 5 per cent backing, while Ms Haley has 4 per cent, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll which was conducted in May.

Others barely register. Mr Christie has just 1 per cent backing him, as does Senator Scott of South Carolina, while former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, who declared in April, has 0 per cent.

Pence is seen as a Reagan-style conservative

Mr Pencehas warned against a growing populist tide in the party, and advisers see him as the only traditional, Reagan-style conservative in the race.

A staunch opponent of abortion rights, Mr Pence supports a national ban on the procedure and has campaigned against transgender-friendly policies in schools.

Florida Governor RonDeSantis, pictured with his wife CaseyDeSantis, is also vying for the Republican nomination. (USA Today Sports via Reuters:Jasen Vinlove)

He argued that changes to Social Security and Medicare, such as raising the age for eligibility, should be on the table to keep programs solvent that both Mr Trump and Mr DeSantis have opposed and criticized Mr DeSantis for his escalation fight with Disney.

He also said that the US should offer more support to Ukraine against Russian aggression, while admonishing “Putin apologists” in the party who do not want to stand up to the Russian leader.

Mr Pence, who describes himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” has spent months laying the groundwork for an anticipated run, holding events in the early voting states like Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire, visiting churches, delivering policy speeches and wooing donors.

Reuters/AP

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