Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday during an event in Des Moines, Iowa. Now, Pence is tasked with taking on his onetime running mate, former President Donald Trump, and a growing field of Republican politicians.
The Indiana Republican has tapped a few of his most loyal political allies to serve on his campaign. Each member of Pence’s team has worked with him previously in some capacity.
PRO-PENCE SUPER PAC LAUNCHING TO SUPPORT FORMER VICE PRESIDENT’S EXPECTED 2024 BID
Here are the leaders of Pence’s campaign effort:
National campaign chairman
Chip Saltsman, who is a co-chair of Pence’s PAC Advancing American Feedom, will serve in the role of national campaign chairman for Pence’s 2024 bid. Saltsman is a political strategy veteran, having worked with numerous Republican politicians over the years as an adviser. He was the national campaign manager for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign, also serving as senior adviser for his 2016 presidential bid.
Senior communications adviser
Devin O’Malley will take charge of the campaign’s communications going into the 2024 battle. O’Malley worked previously under Pence as press secretary during the Trump administration and as senior communications adviser to the vice president for the White House Coronavirus Task Force. More recently, he was a senior communications strategist for Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R-VA) successful 2021 campaign, which strategists pointed to as a blueprint for Republican candidates across the country.
Director of operations and advance
Former member of the Trump-Pence administration’s Presidential Transition Team and top Pence staffer Aaron Chang will head up the campaign’s event execution as the director of operations and advance. On the transition team, Chang served as advance lead and was tasked with arranging travel itineraries during the transition process.
Pence will also enjoy the assistance of longtime advisers Marc Short and Greg Jacob, who both worked on his staff during the Trump administration. Short, a trusted confidante of Pence, served as the former vice president’s chief of staff, while Jacob was his legal counsel. Short also serves as a co-chair of AAF. As advisers, Short and Jacob will offer guidance to Pence during the campaign and help with debate preparation, among other things.
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The Washington Examiner has learned that the campaign will be announcing new additions to the campaign next week.
The former vice president is currently polling in third place in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary with 7%, per Morning Consult. Pence is only outperformed by Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who are supported by 56% and 22% of potential Republican primary voters, respectively.
