Indiana acquaintances of former Vice President Mike Pence said his future plans are yet to be seen but could involve the White House in the next few years.
Pence left office on Jan. 20, finishing out four years of serving as former President Donald Trump’s second-in-command. The former Indiana governor was seen as a loyal ally to Trump, with the exception of the winding days of the administration that left the two at slight odds.
Kyle Hupfer, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said Pence was largely viewed as a “steady, conservative, principled leader,” but he stopped short of making any predictions of what might be next for him.
“I’m going to let the vice president and Karen speak for themselves,” Hupfer said. “I’m sure they will give their future a lot of thoughtful prayer and consultation with their family and that they’ll make a decision on how best to move forward. I don’t like to speculate on those things.”
Indiana state Rep. Ryan Lauer said Pence has been a “source of stability” during his tenure as vice president and while he was serving in Congress.
“In the current political climate, I think a lot of people are looking for leaders like Mike Pence to bring us together as a country again,” Lauer said, adding that whatever he decides to do in the future, “he’d be very successful.”
Leslie Lenkowsky, an emeritus professor at Indiana University who has known Pence since the 1990s, said it’s unlikely that Pence, 61, will pursue another political office outside of the highest in the nation. If Pence doesn’t run for president in 2024, 2028 still could be an option, given that Pence will still be younger than President Biden, who was sworn in at age 78, the oldest president to be inaugurated.
“I doubt very much whether Mike Pence is going to run for another elected office other than president, but he will do the variety of things you need to do to remain active within the Republican Party. I would really be looking eight years out to see his next move,” Lenkowsky told the Republic, the local paper of Pence’s hometown, Columbus, Indiana.
Lenkowsky said he expects Pence to “get heavily involved” in campaigning for GOP congressional candidates in 2022.
After Pence refused to stop the certification of Electoral College votes in favor of Biden, pro-Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 were fast to turn on him. The crowd reportedly could be heard shouting, “Hang Mike Pence!” Following the incident, Trump and Pence allegedly didn’t speak for days.
Pence also attended Biden’s inauguration and skipped Trump’s farewell send-off on his last day. Some supporters who welcomed Trump to his adopted home state of Florida greeted him by waving Trump-Pence signs with the former vice president’s name crossed out.
“Lots of people felt he had been too accommodating to some of the things that the Trump administration did, but he certainly stood up when it really counted,” Lenkowsky said, regarding Pence’s break from Trump on Congress certifying Biden’s victory.
