Greg Pence

Gregory Joseph Pence (born November 14, 1956) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 6th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he is the older brother of former United States Vice President Mike Pence, who represented the district from 2003 to 2013.

This article is about the U.S. Representative from Indiana. For the philosopher, see Gregory Pence.
Greg Pence
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana's 6th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byLuke Messer
Personal details
Born
Gregory Joseph Pence

(1956-11-14) November 14, 1956
Columbus, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Denise Pence
​
(m. 1981)​
Children4
RelativesMike Pence (brother)
Karen Pence (sister-in-law)
Charlotte Pence Bond (niece)
EducationLoyola University Chicago (BA, MBA)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service1979–1984
Rank First Lieutenant

Early life

Born in Columbus, Indiana on November 14, 1956,[1] Pence is the oldest of six children born to his parents, Ann Jane "Nancy" (née Cawley) and Edward Joseph Pence Jr., who ran a group of gas stations.[2][3] He was raised in the Catholic faith. According to his mother, Pence and his three brothers rode wagons in a 1964 campaign parade for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.[4]

Pence earned a B.A. in theology and philosophy and a Master of Business Administration in 1983 from Loyola University Chicago.[5][6] He earned a commission in the Marines in 1979 after receiving his undergraduate degree and served for five and a half years, rising to the rank of first lieutenant.[7][6] In 1983, his battalion was stationed in Beirut, Lebanon and shipped out shortly before the bombings.[8]

Business career

Pence owns and operates antique malls in southern Indiana.

After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, Pence joined Kiel Brothers Oil Company in 1988, after his father died, and served as its president from 1998 to 2004. After his departure, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004.[7] Through the company, he had also run a chain of gas stations and convenience stores.[9][10]

According to some reports, the cleanup from the defunct business sites has cost Indiana at least $21 million.[11] Pence also worked for Marathon Oil and Unocal. In 1999, he was elected to the board of directors of Home Federal Bancorp and its subsidiary Home Federal Savings Bank.[6][12]

U.S. House of Representatives
Greg Pence standing behind Donald Trump at the 2017 inauguration
Pence with Mike Braun, Donald Trump Jr., and Kimberly Guilfoyle in 2018

2018
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana § District 6

Pence was the finance chairman in U.S. House representative Luke Messer's 2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate.[10] In October 2017, Pence launched his own campaign for the position Messer was leaving.[13] On May 8, 2018, Pence won the Republican nomination for the U.S. House seat his brother Mike had held for twelve years. With Pence raising and spending about a million dollars as of mid-April and his closest Republican challenger loaning himself about three quarters of that amount, it made the "race the most expensive in the state." Pence faced Democrat Jeannine Lake in the November general election and won by a margin of over 30 percent.[9]

2020
See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana § District 6

Pence faced Lake in a rematch during the November 3, 2020 general election and won with 68.6% of the vote.

Tenure

In December 2020, Pence was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[14] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[15][16][17]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Pence and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[18][19] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Pence and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[20]

Committee assignments[21]

Electoral history
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Greg Pence 47,955 65.3
Republican Jonathan Lamb 17,523 23.9
Republican Mike Campbell 3,229 4.4
Republican Stephen MacKenzie 2,500 3.4
Republican Jeff Smith 2,258 3.1
Total votes 73,465 100.0
Indiana's 6th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Greg Pence 154,260 63.8
Democratic Jeannine Lee Lake 79,430 32.9
Libertarian Tom Ferkinhoff 8,030 3.3
Independent John Miller (write-in) 5 0.0
Independent Heather Leigh Meloy (write-in) 1 0.0
Total votes 241,726 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

Pence and his wife, Denise, own two antique malls.[12] They have four children—Nicole, Lauren, Emily, and John—and eight grandchildren.[22] Pence is a practicing Catholic and attends St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Columbus.[23]

Denise was an Indiana delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention and cast her vote for Donald Trump and Mike Pence to be the party's nominees.[2] Pence and his family were in attendance at the Inauguration of Donald Trump, seated several rows behind the incoming president. Their oldest daughter, Nicole, was a TV anchor in Indianapolis[24] and their son, John, was working for the Trump 2020 Campaign as a senior advisor as of February 2020.[25]

References
  1. "Where they stand Q&A: Greg Pence". Daily Reporter. April 13, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. Pitrelli, Adrianna (October 6, 2017). "VP's sister-in-law on life since the election". WTHR. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  3. "Mike Pence photo gallery". The Republic. January 20, 2017. slides 8, 12, 32. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  4. Webber, Mark (November 1, 2016). "Pence family hosts Edinburgh rally". The Republic. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. "About Greg". Greg Pence for Congress. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  6. "Home Federal Bancorp Elects New Director". Business Wire. December 21, 1999. Retrieved May 9, 2018 – via The Free Library.
  7. Tackett, Michael (April 22, 2018). "As Another Pence Runs for Congress, His Business Record Raises Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  8. Thomas, Ken (October 23, 2017). "Pence honors memory of Marines killed in 1983 Beirut bombing". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  9. Chamberlain, Samuel (May 8, 2018). "Greg Pence wins GOP nomination for House seat once held by brother Mike Pence". Fox News. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  10. Pathé, Simone (August 16, 2017). "Could There Soon Be Another Pence in Washington?". Roll Call. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  11. Slodysko, Brian (July 13, 2018). "Pence family's failed gas stations cost taxpayers $20M+". Associated Press. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  12. Pathé, Simone (April 18, 2018). "Inside the Antique Mall That's Greg Pence's Largest Asset". Roll Call. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  13. Slodysko, Brian (October 18, 2017). "Mike Pence's brother Greg launches run for Indiana U.S. House seat". Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  14. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  15. Liptak, Adam (2020-12-11). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  16. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. 2020-12-11. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  17. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  18. Smith, David (2020-12-12). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  19. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  20. Williams, Jordan (2020-12-11). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  21. "Greg Pence, Representative for Indiana's 6th Congressional District". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  22. Johannesen, Kirk (February 9, 2018). "Candidate discusses Republican concerns with party leaders, including Second Amendment rights, aid for veterans". The Republic. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  23. "Learn more about Greg Pence". Greg Pence for Congress. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  24. Ariens, Chris (March 8, 2017). "Nicole Pence, Niece of VP Mike Pence, Leaving TV News". TV Spy. AdWeek. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  25. "John Pence". Fox News. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Luke Messer		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana's 6th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Chris Pappas		 United States Representatives by seniority
344th		 Succeeded by
Dean Phillips
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