Karen Pence touts Trump's reelection bid with Indiana filing
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Vice President Mike Pence's wife returned Wednesday to the Indiana Statehouse where her husband used to serve as governor, filing paperwork to put President Donald Trump's name on the state's presidential primary ballot.
Karen Pence walked with Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and about 50 supporters to the secretary of state's office for the formal filing, then touted Trump's actions as president in urging his reelection this year.
Pence boasted in 7 minutes of remarks about national economic growth, the low unemployment rate and new foreign trade deals under Trump, saying 'œwe are getting things done.'ť
'œIt's been three years of action,'ť she said. 'œIt has been three years of results. It has been three years of promises made and promises kept.'ť
Indiana Democratic Chairman John Zody pointed to what he said was a failure by the Trump administration to lower prescription drug prices.
'œNo spin or surrogate can change the fact they lied,'ť Zody said. 'œThis year, the prices of more than 400 medications will rise and Hoosiers will continue to feel the pinch in their pocketbooks.'ť
Trump won't be alone on the Republican primary ballot in May as former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld's campaign also collected enough petition signatures for him to qualify and filed his candidacy on Tuesday, according to the Indiana secretary of state's office.
Weld's candidacy has gained little traction across the country, and Trump will almost certainly have his renomination secured by the time of Indiana's primary. Trump easily won the 2016 Indiana primary and later selected Mike Pence as his running mate on his way to carrying the state in the general election by 19 percentage points over Hillary Clinton.
The Democratic primary ballot could be crowded as nine Democratic candidates have met Indiana's requirement of at least 500 voter petition signatures from each of its nine congressional districts.
Former Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren; former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; businessmen Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang; and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard had filed their candidacy by Wednesday afternoon. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg can be added by Friday's noon filing deadline.