Ex-VP Mike Pence tapped to give graduation speech at Columbia university
Former Vice President Mike Pence will return to South Carolina in April to give the commencement address at a Columbia-based Christian university.
Pence will speak at Columbia International University’s commencement at 11 a.m. on April 30, according to the college. The private university describes itself as specializing in “Bible-centered professional development that prepares students to impact the nations with the message of Christ in ministry, missions and the marketplace.”
The trip will be Pence’s first of two returns to the Palmetto State ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Pence is also scheduled to speak at a Carolina Pregnancy Center dinner in May.
South Carolina is home to the first-in-the-South presidential primary, considered a bellwether in presidential politics.
Pence’s visits to South Carolina come amid talks of a possible run for the nation’s highest office in 2024. Presidential hopefuls often begin visiting South Carolina more than a year before the primary in hopes of wooing voters.
Pence visited the state last year when he addressed the conservative Palmetto Family Council, his first public remarks since leaving Washington.
