Did former VP Mike Pence enter a “statement of candidacy” for the 2024 presidential race or was he pranked? Twitter lit up suggesting that it had been filed with the FEC on his behalf, but a spokesperson for the former Vice President confirmed that Pence did not file paperwork to run for president.
“Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today,” spokesman Devin O’Malley tweeted, later suggesting that someone “pranked” pundits and journalists.
O’Malley declined to comment on the filing and directed Fox News Digital to send questions to the FEC.
A spokesperson for the FEC said it cannot comment on specific filings, but noted that the agency has a process for reviewing potentially fake or fictitious forms.
A statement of candidacy was filed for “Mr. Mike Richard Pence” at 5:12 p.m. ET on Monday. Previous filings with the FEC have listed “Michael” as Pence’s first name, not “Mike.”
While the former vice president has not filed to run in 2024 yet, Pence has been mulling the possibility during a nationwide book tour for his memoir “So Help Me God.”
“The fact that people are now getting to know me and my family, our faith, our conservative convictions better, has been a great source of encouragement as we think about the way forward and what our calling might be in the future,” Pence told Fox News Digital in New Hampshire on Dec. 13.
If Pence does enter the race, he’ll be up against former President Donald Trump, who threw his hat in the ring last month and has relentlessly criticized the former vice president since leaving office.
The Republican field of candidates will be a crowded one, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley all possible candidates in 2024, though none of them have announced their intentions to run yet.
