Former US Vice President Mike Pence is offering a "Freedom Agenda" platform for Republicans ahead of this year's midterm elections, presenting a framework for GOP candidates – and possibly himself for a 2024 presidential run. Pence's platform, released Thursday, offers plenty of culture war red meat for the GOP base, pledging, for instance, to save women's sports by "ensuring that sports competitions are between those who share their God-given gender" and calling for all high school students to pass a civics test.
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While Pence in recent weeks has worked to distance himself from his former boss Donald Trump as he begins to reintroduce himself to voters and develop a political identity of his own, he has also been careful to tie himself to the policies of the Trump-Pence administration, which remain extremely popular among Republican voters.
The economic plan unveiled Thursday calls for fast-tracking permits for oil and gas production, expanding drilling on federal lands and offshore, and pursuing trade agreements that better protect American workers. On foreign policy, Pence calls on China to "establish a victims compensation and economic recovery fund" for "negligently unleashing and hiding the origins of COVID-19."
Pence has been raising his public profile, making frequent media appearances, headlining political events, and delivering policy speeches. He has traveled in recent weeks to Israel, South Korea, and the Ukrainian border with Poland, where he greeted fleeing refugees. And he has paid numerous visits to early voting states, including New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina, which he'll return to next month.
