Mike Wolanin | The Republic Former Vice President Mike Pence and former second lady Karen Pence pose for a photo with Laura McLinn and her son Jordan during the Bartholomew County GOP election results watch party at Factor 12 Event Loft in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
Columbus native and former Vice President Mike Pence, widely regarded as a likely Republican Party presidential candidate, returned to his hometown Tuesday for an election-night viewing party where his brother, Rep. Greg Pence, was seeking re-election to Congress.
Surrounded by family, friends, fellow Republicans and well-wishers who shook hands and posed for photos with the former congressman and Indiana governor, Pence also was in town one week ahead of his return to the national spotlight. Next Tuesday, Nov. 15, will mark the release of his 560-page autobiography, “So Help Me God,” for which he received a multi-million book deal from publisher Simon & Schuster.
Perhaps coincidentally, Pence’s ex-boss, former President Donald Trump, on Monday said he will make a “big announcement” that same day. Asked in a brief interview how Trump’s announcement the same day of his book release struck him, Pence grimaced a bit, smiled, and said:
“Others will be making their announcements and others will be making their intentions known, but we’re going to stay focused on telling our story and celebrating really what I think are the great accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration.”
Pence has made headlines for parting with Trump on some issues, but he’s never stopped campaigning for Republican candidates, fueling speculation that he’s warming up for a presidential run in 2024.
“I’ve traveled to some 35 states over the last 12 months, and I see a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for our candidates for the House and Senate as well as candidates around the country, so I’m looking for the start of a great American comeback.”
Pence and former second lady Karen Pence now live in Zionsville, but the former VP said he will be coming back to Columbus later this month for at least one book signing as part of a nationwide book-signing tour.
“I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to have written my autobiography. It’s entitled ‘So Help Me God’ and it really is the story of my life growing up here in Columbus, the son of a combat veteran and a precocious first-generation American,” he said. “So I’m really excited about the opportunity to tell our story, and there’s a fair amount about Columbus, Indiana, in the first part of the book. I really think Columbus is a very special community. It has a very unique history, which really enriched my upbringing.”
The book also includes the final turbulent days of the administration that included the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in which Pence, his family and members of Congress fled from insurrectionists who overtook the Capitol.
“We write about everything from the very beginning to the very end,” he said. “… The book ends on the day of inauguration, Jan. 20, 2021, when we get on a plane and come back to Columbus, Indiana.”
But Tuesday night was Election Night, and before the first results had been posted, Pence was back in his element — waiting optimistically for the numbers to come in as he’s done on election nights since his first run for office in 1988.
“I think we’re going to have a great night across Indiana, across the country,” he said. … So Karen and I, we’re excited to have the opportunity to come down and support my brother.
“… I’ll always be proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration, and whatever the future holds for us, I’ll always continue to champion those same values. I’m very proud of Congressman Greg Pence. I think he has served Indiana with great distinction in the House of Representatives, and I’m confident the people of Indiana are going to send him back for two more years in a Republican majority.”
