According to an IRS filing obtained by the Associated Press, Greg Pence, one of the older brothers of Vice President Mike Pence, is planning a congressional run for Indiana’s 6th district – the same House seat that Mike Pence held for a decade.
The filing indicates that Pence formed Greg Pence for Congress Committee on Monday.
Greg Pence, brother of @VP, has filed documentation with IRS indicating his intent to run for Congress. No filing on @FEC website yet. @rtv6 pic.twitter.com/pFzSesGTkP
— Katie Heinz (@katieheinz6) October 18, 2017
The filing also lists Craig Kunkle as the organization’s “custodian.” Kunkle is a chief operating officer of a firm called MO strategies, which is led by Mike Pence’s longtime aide and fundraiser Marty Obst.
Greg Pence is already considered the hands-down favorite to win the overwhelmingly Republican district. Bob Grand, a major Republican fundraiser in Indiana, said in June that Pence would be an ideal candidate: “He’s a community leader, he’s been involved in this community, he’s obviously got good name ID. I think all those things are positive.”
Greg Pence was previously in charge of his father’s gas station empire, Kiel Brothers Oil Co., which operated a chain of convenience stores under the name Tobacco Road. However, the company went bankrupt in 2004, wiping out more than $673,000 of Mike Pence’s net worth in the process. One of Greg Pence’s GOP primary opponents, Jonathan Lamb, has already attacked him over the bankruptcy, saying, “I think we’re all proud to have a Hoosier that’s steps away from the president, but that doesn’t necessarily make Mike Pence’s brother qualified to be a congressman.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are using Greg Pence’s family as a way to disqualify him: “If you thought one Pence was damaging enough to our state’s economy, wait until you see what a second can do,” Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said.
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