On January 9, 2024, Pence announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would not be running for re-election to the 119th United States Congress.[1]
Early life
Born in Columbus, Indiana, on November 14, 1956,[2] Pence is the oldest of six children born to his parents, Ann Jane "Nancy" (née Cawley) and Edward Joseph Pence Jr., who ran a group of gas stations.[3][4] He was raised in the Catholic faith. According to his mother, Pence and his three brothers rode wagons in a 1964 campaign parade for Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.[5]
After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, Pence joined Kiel Brothers Oil Company in 1988, after his father died, and served as its president from 1998 to 2004. After his departure, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004.[8] Through the company, he also ran a chain of gas stations and convenience stores.[10][11]
According to some reports, the cleanup from the defunct business sites has cost Indiana at least $21 million.[12] Pence also worked for Marathon Oil and Unocal. In 1999, he was elected to the board of directors of Home Federal Bancorp and its subsidiary Home Federal Savings Bank.[7][13]
Pence was the finance chairman in U.S. Representative Luke Messer's 2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate.[11] In October 2017, Pence launched his own campaign for the position Messer was leaving.[14] On May 8, 2018, Pence won the Republican nomination for the U.S. House seat his brother Mike had held for 12 years. With Pence raising and spending about $1 million as of mid-April and his closest Republican challenger loaning himself about three quarters of that amount, it made the "race the most expensive in the state." Pence faced Democrat Jeannine Lake in the November general election and won by a margin of over 30%.[10]
In January 2021 in the aftermath of the insurrection at the Capitol and despite the rioters' chants of "Hang Mike Pence," Greg Pence voted to side with Trump and reject the Pennsylvania votes which swung the election to Biden.[16]
In May 2021, Pence voted against a House bill establishing a January 6 commission, accusing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats of partisan plans to use the commission to carry out the "political execution of Donald Trump". The bill passed.[17]
In August 2022, Pence criticized President Joe Biden for forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers. Pence was criticized for hypocrisy because he had $79,441 of debt from his PPP loan forgiven.[18]
Veterans
The PACT ACT which expanded VA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service, received a "nay" from Pence.[19] Regarding cannabis, despite lobbying from VSOs such as the DAV[20] Pence also voted against 2022 MORE Act.[21][22]
Pence and his wife, Denise, own two antique malls.[13] They have four children and ten grandchildren.[24] Pence is a practicing Catholic and attends St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Columbus.[25]
Their oldest daughter, Nicole, was a TV anchor in Indianapolis[26] and their son, John, worked on Trump's 2020 campaign as a senior advisor and is married to Kellyanne Conway's cousin Giovanna Coia.[27][28]
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