EXCLUSIVE — Former Vice President Mike Pence is headed to Iowa this month as the Republican’s preparations for a 2024 White House bid heat up.

Pence is scheduled to headline the annual Story County Lincoln Highway Dinner on April 23 in Ames. Earlier that day, the former vice president will be in northwestern Iowa’s staunchly conservative 4th Congressional District. The region is home to committed Republican voters who typically play a critical role in determining the winner of the state’s presidential nominating caucuses, the first such contest on the GOP’s White House primary calendar.