Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s vice-president, has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to launch his candidacy for president, joining a crowded field of Republicans vying to take on Trump for the party’s nomination in 2024.

Pence, 63, was loyal to Trump for four years in the White House, but broke with the president when he rebuffed Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Pence is disliked by Trump’s most ardent supporters, and trails the former president in opinion polls by a large margin. The latest average Real Clear Politics average shows that Trump commands the support of more than half of Republican voters nationwide, compared with just under 4 per cent for Pence.