Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Today, former vice president Mike Pence filed formal paper work ahead of his expected announcement on Wednesday by video from Iowa that he is running for president in 2024. He joins a growing list of prominent contenders for the Republican nomination, including former president Donald Trump, whom he served with for a contentious four years in the White House.

By the end of the week the list of candidates for the GOP primary is expected to grow to 10 as a grand jury continues to hear evidence on whether to indict Trump on federal charges relative to his handling of some 11,000 White House classified documents during and after his time as president.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie's announcement that he too is running is slated for Tuesday, and he and Pence follow Florida Gov. Ron Desantis' grand announcement last week of his presidential bid. Desantis' announcement was steeped in controversy with the NAACP, the nation's most prominent Civil Rights organization, calling him racist and advising Blacks and others against traveling to Florida

According to polls, Trump is currently the undeniable front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. . It remains to be seen what excitement, if any, the dull Pence, also a former Indiana governor, will bring to the campaign forum, and whether he can handle Trump as an adversary on the campaign trail. Once friends and political running mates, they are now at odds with one another.

Following his upcoming announcement on Wednesday, Pence will appear on CNN for an evening town hall in Iowa. It follows Sunday's CNN town hall with Nikki Haley. She is the former governor of South Carolina and is also among the announced GOP wannabees for next year's race for the White House, as is Sen. Tim Scott, also of South Carolina and a conservative and the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate.

In a poll by Real Clear Politics Trump is leading  the field of GOP candidates with 53% of GOP primary voters. DeSantis is in second place at 22%, and Haley and Pence poll at 4% and 3%, respectively

President Joe Biden, who ousted Trump in 2020 to win the presidency via an election that culminated in the Jan 6 insurrection at the Capitol that left five people dead and several others injured, faces Robert Kennedy Jr. and author Marianne Williamson for the Democratic nomination for president.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS