Former Vice President Mike Pence will go to South Carolina next month to deliver his first public speech since the end of the Trump administration.
Pence will be the keynote speaker at a dinner hosted by the Family Council of Palmetto, a conservative Christian nonprofit organization, on April 29 in Columbia, South Carolina, Fox News confirmed on Monday.
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Although Pence remained silent about his future political plans, analysts consider him a likely candidate for the Republican presidency in 2024. The stop in South Carolina will undoubtedly generate more speculation, as Palmetto State holds the first southern primary and votes the third in the Republican Party’s presidential nomination schedule.
Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a “Save the Most” rally on Thursday, December 10, 2020 in Augusta, Georgia (AP Photo / John Bazemore)
The former vice president has stayed out of the political spotlight since President Biden’s presidency began on January 20. But last month Pence joined the Heritage Foundation, one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in the conservative movement, as a distinguished fellow – as well as joining Young America’s Foundation, an important conservative youth organization.
Marc Short, an aide and adviser close to Pence who has served as chief of staff to the then vice president for the past two years, told Fox News last month that Pence is also likely to be “very active” in helping other Republicans in the campaign during the 2022 midterm election cycle.
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Pence also met last month with the Republican Studies Committee, which is the largest and oldest group of Republicans in the House. And in an article earlier this month for The Daily Signal, a conservative blog affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, he pointed out the Democrats’ broad electoral reform bill that was passed by the House on party lines last week.
During his long political career, as an Indiana congressman to the Midwestern state governor, Pence pushed for restrictions on abortion. A Pence aide who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News that the former vice president will highlight his conservative values in the speech, but also point to the Trump administration’s achievements over the past four years.
The Palmetto Family Council is a strong supporter of what it highlights are “biblical values”, such as heterosexual marriage, and has advocated a ban on abortion.
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Palmetto Family President Dave Wilson told Fox News that Pence will speak to about 450 to 600 guests with tickets to the group-sponsored dinner at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
Wilson told Fox News that “Pence’s support for conservative Christian values was one of the main reasons for looking for him. Mike Pence represents much of what conservative Christian voters recognize as an impactful part of the Trump-Pence administration.”