According to documents released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), former Vice President Mike Pence filed for the White House on Monday, running against his former running mate Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. AFP reports. and Reuters.

The evangelical conservative, a staunch opponent of abortion, will formally launch his candidacy on Wednesday, the day he turns 64.

Pence will kick off his campaign with a video and a speech in Iowa, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters last week.

Pence faces Republican front-runner Trump, whom he once loyally supported but withdrew his support when the former president tried to overturn the 2020 election results, which were won by Democrat Joe Biden.

The former Indiana governor has increasingly distanced himself from Trump, saying his encouragement of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, put Pence and his family inside the building at risk.

Pence joins a growing number of Republican candidates, including Trump, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also plans to enter Wednesday’s race, according to a person familiar with Burgum’s plans.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is also entering the Republican race on Tuesday.

The number of candidates vying for the nomination worries many of Trump’s opponents in the Republican Party, who fear that the anti-Trump vote could split and the former president could eventually become the GOP presidential nominee again.

The grandson of former US President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also entered the Republican race, although he has little chance of defeating Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis, the most prominent Republican candidates in next November’s election.