BRETTON WOODS, New Hampshire — Former Vice President Mike Pence met with local New Hampshire politicians during his crisscrossing of the Granite State on Wednesday as speculations mount over his 2024 ambitions.
At his side during much of his tour Wednesday was Jeb Bradley, majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate, as the two stumped for local candidates and participated in meet-and-greets with residents. Bradley, who previously served with Pence in Congress, is one of several local heavyweights who could be a key ally in a hypothetical 2024 race.
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“[Pence is] a great friend of mine, somebody who’s been through thick and thin and, you know, had a tough go in 2020,” Bradley said during a stop in Bretton Woods. “He’s back out doing it because he cares … and that’s the Mike Pence of integrity that I knew so many years ago. You can’t find a better human being than Mike Pence.”
Following remarks at a “Politics & Eggs” event, Pence traveled through mountainous New Hampshire terrain up to North Country, attending a law enforcement roundtable event with state Senate contender Tim Lang before hosting a mostly private event with locals alongside state Senate contender Carrie Gendreau. His tour ended in Bretton Woods, where he huddled with members of the Tri-County GOP in a swanky hotel overlooking cloud-covered mountains.
Notably absent from the tour was any stumping for New Hampshire Republicans in national races such as the House or Senate. Pence’s backing of Lang and Gendreau in state legislative elections seemingly steers him clear of taking a stand that would be considered divisive among national Republicans while allowing him to make inroads with local power players in a key early-voting state.
Throughout his visit, Pence repeatedly defended New Hampshire’s status as the first-in-the-nation presidential primary — a mantle that the Democrats are rethinking for their primary process.
“I just think tradition is important. I’ve never spent a lot of time in New Hampshire, but I may someday,” he teased at Politics & Eggs. “And there’s something about what you people do here on both sides of the aisle that I think has contributed to the quality of leadership that we’ve generated in this country.”
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This was Pence’s third major trip to New Hampshire since departing the White House, according to his security detail. He is also slated to visit Iowa later in the week but has downplayed his 2024 ambitions despite his focus on early-voting states that often attract presidential hopefuls.
“You know, all my focus right now is on making sure that we’re electing men and women at every level of state government to 2020 to put our country back on a path of security and prosperity,” he told reporters during the tour. “Then, after the first of the year, we’ll see what we might be able to contribute in the months and years ahead.”
