Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), the older brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election to the House at the end of his term, one of dozens of GOP lawmakers to say they will retire in the next year.
“In 2017, I ran for Congress because I was Ready to Serve Again. As a former Marine Officer, I approached the job with purpose. After three terms, I’ve made the decision to not file for reelection,” Pence, 67, said in his statement.
“For the remainder of my term this year, our team will continue to focus on delivering outstanding constituent services. To the voters in Indiana’s 6th District — it is a privilege and honor to represent you in our Nation’s capital.”
Pence was elected to the seat formerly held by his brother from Indiana’s 6th Congressional District in 2018 and will have served for three terms when he leaves office in January 2025.
The former vice president served in the same district from 2001 to 2013 before his successful run for Indiana governor. Mike Pence ran the Hoosier State until 2017, when he joined the Trump White House.
Greg Pence’s retirement follows more than two dozen pending or effective departures by other House Republicans this term, including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) who chose to leave Capitol Hill last month, one full year before the end of his term.
The GOP conference has been racked by infighting since the beginning of the 118th Congress, with McCarthy going through 15 rounds of voting and granting concessions to hardline members before winning the gavel in January of last year.
He was ousted nine months later by a gang of eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who said McCarthy had reneged on the agreements he made to secure his speakership.
Gaetz also claimed McCarthy had agreed to a “secret” side deal with Democrats to ram through a government funding bill without buy-in from the conservative members of the Republican conference.
The turmoil lasted for three weeks as Republicans nominated three candidates to replace McCarthy before unanimously voting to hand the gavel to the current speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Indiana Republican Reps. Jim Banks, Larry Buchshon and Victoria Spartz have also stated they will not seek re-election in 2024, with Banks deciding to run for retiring Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.)’s seat rather than another term in the House.
Braun previously announced that he would run for Indiana governor in 2024, a race in which the Republican nominee would be favored.
The last Democrat to win an Indiana gubernatorial election was Frank O’Bannon in 2000.
