Mike Pence is testing the waters for a political comeback. A 2024 presidential run appears to be on his agenda.

Business Insider reports that Pence “has been plotting a return to public prominence, employing a methodical approach that has been a hallmark of his career in public service.” That includes attending important fundraisers, joining a prominent conservative think tank, and creating an advocacy group dubbed Advancing American Freedom. Trump veterans Kellyanne Conway and Lurry Kudlow sit on the advisory board.

Pence has also added a presidential campaign veteran to his political team: Chip Saltsman. That’s an eyebrow raising move for a politician who rarely shakes up his staff.

The flurry of behind-the-scenes activity represents an improbable return for Donald Trump’s estranged vice president. Because of his four-year association with Trump, he’s unpalatable to Democrats and left-leaning moderates. But even Trump and his diehard supporters have turned on the former veep. In fact, Pence was nearly assaulted by a right-wing mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6th. They were chanting “hang Mike Pence,” because he refused to reject the clear results of the 2020 election.

Yet, Pence knows political winds can shift and his name recognition makes him a contender in national politics. According to polling, he trails only Trump in the 2024 GOP field. From Business Insider:

A poll of Republican primary voters earlier this month by a former Trump campaign pollster, John McLaughlin, found Trump clearly dominating the field with more than 50% support and no one else except Pence registering more than single-digit support.

But remove Trump from the field and Pence becomes the front-runner, even edging out Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., 19% to 15%.

Now, Pence is set to headline a fundraiser for a Christian organization in South Carolina.

Business Insider explains the implications:

The imagery of Pence’s first public campaign-style stop since the 2020 election is impossible to miss to the trained political eye: He’s posting up in the backyard of a possible 2024 opponent, former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, in a key typically early Republican primary state. He’s also playing to conservative evangelicals, a critical base of voters he hopes to keep squarely in his camp.

“He’s reminding everyone he’s returning from where he came, and honestly I think that’s going to be a pretty bold speech,” one Pence advisor said.