Mike Pence’s older brother is running for Congress after saying that the vice president was “full of shit”.
Gregory Pence filed a tax document this week indicating he is planning to run for the same congressional seat in eastern Indiana that Mike Pence held for 12 years.
A campaign announcement video touts the elder Pence as a Republican who believes in “fiscal responsibility, the sanctity of life” and “our Second Amendment rights.”
“I’m going to fight to help Donald Trump help our district,” Mr Pence says in the video. “That’s why I’m running for the United States Congress.”
The elder Pence’s experience in politics is limited. Over the years, he has served as a close confidant to his brother and had a brief stint as deputy for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in 2005 during his brother's congressional term – despite having no environmental credentials, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Mr Pence also ran the family's now-bankrupt chain of convenience stores and gas stations.
Earlier this year, he took his first formal steps into the political fray when he became statewide finance chairman for current Republican Congressman Luke Messer, who is running for Indiana's US Senate seat in 2018.
In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Mr Pence offered several colourful quotes about the Vice President.
Speaking about Mike Pence's unsuccessful campaign for a congressional seat in 1990, Gregory said, “Mike burned a lot of bridges”. The campaign struggled after media reports revealed he had used donations for personal expenses, such as his mortgage and groceries, the New Yorker said.
“He upset a lot of his backers,” the elder Pence added. “It was partly because of immaturity, but he really was kind of full of shit.”
