Iowa: The first vice president in modern history to challenge his former running mate, Mike Pence is pinning his presidential hopes on Iowa as he launches a campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Des Moines on Wednesday.

The party's willingness to support a socially conservative, well-mannered, and devoutly religious candidate who has denounced the populist tide that has swept through his party under former President Donald Trump will also be put to the test by Pence's campaign.

Additionally, it will demonstrate whether Pence still has a chance of winning office after January 6, 2021, given that a sizable portion of GOP voters still buy into Trump's claims that the 2020 election was rigged and that Pence had the authority to overturn the results.

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The state of Iowa, which will cast the first ballots of the Republican primary calendar, is important to Pence and his advisers in terms of his potential path to the nomination. Many of the voters who attend its caucuses identify as evangelical Christians, who they believe to be Pence's natural base of support. They also believe that Pence, who served as governor and a representative of Indiana in Congress, is a good fit for the Midwest nation.

"We believe the path to victory runs through Iowa and all of its 99 counties," said Scott Reed, co-chair of a super PAC that was established last month to support Pence's campaign.

Traditionally, Iowa has been viewed as a launchpad for presidential candidates, giving hopefuls who succeed or defy expectations momentum, funding, and attention. However, recent winners like Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Ted Cruz did not manage to secure the nomination.

Pence also faces formidable obstacles. In a crowded GOP field that now includes Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, he enters the race as one of the most well-known Republicans.

Pence, however, who is viewed as a traitor by Trump supporters and seen as complicit with his most egregious actions, is also burdened with high unfavourable ratings.

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In a poll conducted by CNN last month, 45 percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said they would never support Pence. Only 16% of people endorsed Trump in the same way.
According to a poll conducted by The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa, Pence's favorability has also decreased in Iowa.

In June 2021, soon after Pence left office, 86 percent of Iowa Republicans said they had a favourable opinion of him. However, the Register's March Iowa Poll revealed that this number had fallen to 66%. In addition, the poll found that Pence had higher unfavourable ratings than any other candidate, including Trump and DeSantis, with 26% of Republicans polled expressing a "somewhat" or "very" negative opinion of him.

Furthermore, only 58 percent of Iowa's evangelicals expressed a positive opinion of Pence, which is particularly disappointing given the approach taken by his campaign.

But Pence, who has already made more than a dozen trips to Iowa since leaving office, has also been well-received by voters. Pence stood out as the only candidate at a 'Roast and Ride' event over the weekend that drew a long list of 2024 contenders because he actually mounted a Harley and took part in the event's annual motorcycle ride. He strolled easily from table to table at the state fairgrounds barbecue, greeting and chit-chatting with guests as he went.

But many Republican voters who believe in the unfounded but persistent conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged still harbour lingering scepticism of Pence. Pence refused Trump's pressure campaign to reject the Electoral College vote when he presided over a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump's supporters violently stormed the building. Many who cling to the lie believe Pence was complicit in the plot to deny Trump a second term.

Advisors to Pence claim they are aware of the difficulty and plan to inform voters directly that Pence was performing his constitutionally required duties and that he never had the authority to influence the vote while serving in a ceremonial capacity.

Marc Short, a trusted advisor for many years, said, "I think it's something you have to walk straight through."

Beyond January 6, his team's main objective is to reintroduce Pence to a nation that primarily knows him as Trump's vice president. They are planning a campaign that will be heavily reliant on town halls, house parties, and appearances at nearby diners and Pizza Ranch restaurants — — more private settings that will help voters get to know him personally. They want to remind voters of his time in congressional leadership and as governor.

"Mike Pence, the vice president, has been seen by many. Todd Hudson, the speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives and a longtime friend of Mike Pence who has agreed to assist with outreach to state legislators, stated, "I think what people are going to see is Mike Pence the person." I'm very eager for people to meet the Mike Pence I know, who is funny and a wonderful person all around—the more laid-back Mike Pence.

Reed asserts that the party has a strong preference for a candidate who upholds Reagan-style conservatism, which includes traditional social values, a hawkish foreign policy, and small-government economics. This candidate would be in the mould of Pence.

"We believe that the race for the Republican Party's nomination will be a titanic struggle for the party's conservative, traditional wing. Pence will run for office as a traditional conservative. His qualifications are unmatched," he declared.

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Pence has argued that Social Security and Medicare cuts must be considered, in contrast to Trump and DeSantis, and he has attacked those who have questioned why the US should keep providing aid to Ukraine to fend off Russian aggression.
"We won't attempt to out-Pence Trump. Everyone else is, according to Reed. "Pence is the only contender who isn't Trump's vice president."