Pence says anyone serious about 2024 needs to enter race ‘by June’

Former Vice President Mike Pence said in a new interview that anyone in the GOP who is serious about running for president in 2024 needs to enter the race by June.

“I think that anyone that would be serious about seeking the Republican nomination would need to be in this contest by June,” he told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” in an interview clip that will air on Sunday.

“If we have an announcement to make, it’ll be well before late June,” he added, when asked about his own potential bid.

When CBS host Robert Costa pushed the former vice president about which way he’s leaning, Pence simply quipped: “Well, I’m here in Iowa, Robert.”

The former Indiana governor similarly hinted last week that his decision on a 2024 White House run would be coming in a matter of weeks.

“I believe that you’ll have a clear idea of what the Pences decide in weeks and not months, and I promise to keep you informed of our decision,” he told “Fox & Friends.”

If the former vice president were to announce, he would join a GOP field that has already been largely dominated by his old boss. Former President Trump currently holds a commanding lead in the polls over other current and potential Republican candidates.

A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll showed Pence polling at 7 percent, behind former President Trump at 55 percent and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) at 20 percent. However, Pence stood ahead of several announced GOP candidates, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Pence recently took several swipes at Trump and other potential candidates at the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) annual spring donor retreat. 

In a clear reference to the former president, Pence urged the GOP to “resist the politics of personality and the lure of populism unmoored to timeless conservative values.”