Former Reagan administration officials endorse Pence

A group of former Reagan administration officials have put their support behind former Vice President Mike Pence, endorsing his bid in the 2024 GOP presidential race. 

“We urge our fellow Republicans to join us in supporting Mike Pence in the Republican primary,” the officials who served under former President Reagan wrote in a letter reported by Politico. “Together, we can ensure that timeless conservative principles exemplified by Ronald Reagan and Mike Pence continue to guide our party and lead our nation toward a brighter future.”

T. Kenneth Cribb Jr., Edwin J. Feulner Jr., Donald Paul Hodel and Helene Von Damm argue in their letter that Pence “is the candidate best equipped to uphold the Reagan legacy and lead our party and our nation forward.”

Pence is running for the Republican nomination against former President Trump, the current front-runner of the field, and has been polling behind some of the other Republican contenders — like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. 

He and the other GOP hopefuls are headed toward the party’s second primary debate Wednesday, when qualified candidates will gather on stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. 

Pence launched his White House campaign in June, marking the first time in recent history that a vice president has run directly against a president under which he served. Trump skipped the first debate and plans to forego the second, meaning the pair have thus far avoided onstage sparring at the closely watched events.

The former Reagan officials in their letter lauded Pence, who is also the former governor of Indiana, and his commitment to conservative principles, his prioritization of U.S. “military might,” and his belief that “every human life is precious and should be protected in law as a child created in the image of God.”

“As former Reagan administration officials, we have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of principled leadership that adheres to conservative values,” the letter reads.

“Mike Pence embodies these values and has the vision and experience necessary to lead our party and our nation with honor, integrity, and a deep commitment to classical conservative principles that define the Reagan legacy,” they added.