Former United States Vice-President Mike Pence has officially filed paperwork to join an increasingly crowded field of Republicans running for president.
Pence filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, but will formally launch his bid for the Republican nomination with a video and event in Des Moines, Iowa, on his 64th birthday.
The former congressman and Indiana governor, an evangelical conservative, enters a primary dominated by Trump, who enjoys commanding polling leads, well clear of his nearest challenger, the rightwing Florida governor, Ron DeSantis.
The move pits him against Donald Trump, the man he served in the White House for four years from 2017-21.
Most opinion polls show Mr Pence in a distant third place, with support in the low single digits.
