After staying out of the political spotlight for the past two weeks, former Vice President Mike Pence is coming back in moderation.
Pence made headlines on Thursday when he announced that he is joining the Heritage Foundation as a distinguished member, and again on Friday with the announcement that he is entering into a partnership with Young America’s Foundation.
The Heritage Foundation is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks on the conservative spectrum. And Young America’s Foundation is a well-known conservative organization for young people half a century old.
PENCE JOINING HERITAGE FOUNDATION, A GREATER CONSERVATION THINKING TANK
The announcement came quickly after Wednesday’s word that the former vice president inaugurated a transitional post.
The moves come ahead of what is expected to be more announcements in the coming days about affiliations with other known conservative organizations and the likely creation, in the coming weeks, of a nonprofit organization that would allow Pence to raise money for conservative causes.
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks after returning to his hometown, Columbus, Indiana, on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Pence returned to his hometown in Indiana, where he told a small crowd that he would serve at White House was the greatest honor of his life. Pence flew on a government plane on Wednesday afternoon to Columbus Municipal Airport with his wife, Karen, after attending the inauguration of President Joe Biden. (AP Photo / Michael Conroy)
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Pence’s announcements – a likely candidate for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination for 2024 – come at a time when the first actions are already underway towards the 2022 mid-term elections, when Republicans intend to win back majorities in the House and the Senate.
Marc Short, an aide and aide close to Pence who has served as chief of staff to the then vice president for the past two years, told Fox News that Pence is likely to be “very active” helping other Republicans campaigning in the next two years.
Pence knows campaign policy well. He was elected to the House in 2000 and was re-elected five times before winning the election for governor of Indiana in 2012. In the summer of 2016, he joined the Republican national plate as a running mate for Donald Trump. Pence was also a tireless activist for Republican candidates mid-term in 2018 and in last year’s elections, as well as during the recently completed two-month run-up campaigns by the Georgia Senate.
RETURNING TO INDIANA, PENCE SAYS ‘THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME’
Short said initial talks with Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy and his team are already underway on how Pence can be useful in the future, as well as with the Association of Republican Governors. Pence served on the RGA executive committee during his term as governor of Indiana and has a close relationship with the governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, who recently took over as president of RGA. Governor elections will be held in 38 states over the next two years.
A Republican source in Pence’s orbit predicted: “I think you will find that candidates will be extremely receptive to Mike Pence who comes and campaigns on his behalf.”
Campaigning for Republicans in next year’s election could pay dividends when the next White House dispute officially begins after the 2022 term of office.
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“It is a strategy that several presidential candidates have used over the years, traveling to the first primaries and caucuses, apparently to help Republicans, but really make friends, lay the groundwork for White House campaigns,” noted the former Republican strategist Jim Merrill.
Merrill, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns who lives in the New Hampshire state presidential primaries, added: “I hope we will see Pence here in New Hampshire early and often.”