Former VP Mike Pence announces Republican nomination bid

Former US Vice President Mike Pence has launched his bid to be nominated as the Republican Party's candidate for the 2024 presidential election, electoral commission documents showed on Monday.

The former vice president will launch his campaign with a video and a speech from the Midwestern state of Iowa.

Pence will face up against his ex-boss, the frontrunner former President Donald Trump.

Other candidates include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Tim Scott and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Other political figures expected to announce their candidacy are North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Who is Mike Pence?

Pence is a 63-year-old evangelical Christian who is known for his socially conservative positions. He is a staunch supporter of sending military Ukraine to aid and is a hardliner on abortion policy.

He rejected former President Donald Trump's demands that he overturn the 2020 election, which was won by current President Joe Biden.

He has increasingly distanced himself from Trump since theattack on the US Capitol in January 2021. Trump has promised to pardon some of those involved in the riots if elected in 2024.

In March, Pence sharply criticized Trump for claiming that the election had been manipulated.

"I had no right to overturn the election, and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable," he said.

In February, Pence was summoned to testify in a probe looking into Trump's handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Some of the classified documents had been found at Pence's own residence.

Can Pence unseat Trump as Republican frontrunner?

Analysts have argued that Pence's candidacy could be undermined by his association with the Trump presidency.

"The Trumpists are angry with him. The Never Trumpists are mad at him for his being part of the administration and support of an impeached, convicted insurrection promoter," Republican strategist Chip Felkel told the US news portal Vox. "It's a hard path."

 "We all give (Pence) credit for certifying the election," anti-Trump Republican strategist Sarah Longwell told the Politico newspaper.

"But he also stood next to Donald Trump and normalized and validated him for four years while Trump ran roughshod over the presidency."

Other analysts and political figures have argued that the high number of alternative candidates, now in the double digits, favors Trump's nomination by the Republican Party.

"It's better for us to have a smaller field with a strong candidate or two rather than 10 or more people who are failing to get attention, who are all in single digits [in opinion polls]," said former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who is a fierce opponent of Trump.

"The only one that benefits from that at this point in time appears to be Donald Trump," he argued.

sdi/rc (AFP, Reuters, AP)