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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. Mike DeWine will appear with Ex-Vice President Mike Pence in Ohio later this week at an event promoting the states oil and natural gas industry.

Pence and DeWine are taking part in a Thursday roundtable in Cincinnati hosted by the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, a public outreach arm of the industry, discussing the importance of domestically produced fossil fuels, according to event organizers. The talk, coordinated through a new political group Pence founded, wont be open to the public.

While in Ohio, a Pence aide said the former vice president also will appear at private campaign fundraisers for DeWine and Rep. Steve Chabot, a Cincinnati Republican who was drawn into a Democratic-leaning district following redistricting earlier this year.

The timing is eyebrow-raising, given the featured role Pence is playing in this weeks congressional hearings investigating the causes of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The committee plans a hearing to examine the steps ex-President Donald Trump took to pressure Pence to unilaterally reject the results of the November 2020 election, and Pences insistence that he had no right to do so.

The appearance in Ohio also is the latest sign that Pence is trying to stay politically relevant in an electorally significant state. Pence has sent signals he may run for president in 2024, telling the New York Times last month he may do so even if Trump decides to run for another term himself.

Pence has emerged as something of an unlikely rival to Trump, who has broken with Pence over the former vice-presidents refusal to embrace Trumps false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Hes also scheduled to appear this week in Arizona to talk about border security, and campaigned in Georgias Republican primary last month, stumping for incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp as he fended off a Trump-backed challenger.

Pence, a former Indiana governor, was last in Ohio in late October, when he made a campaign-style trio of appearances a few days before the Nov. 2 special election.

On Oct. 29, Pence spoke at the conservative Ashbrook Center at Ashland University. The next day, he stumped for Republican Rep. Mike Carey shortly before Carey ended up winning the election, and spoke at a conservative evangelical church in suburban Columbus.

Pence previously spoke at an Ohio Oil & Gas Association event in 2019, while he was still vice-president. He and DeWine were in frequent contact in 2020, when Pence coordinated the Trump administrations coronavirus response with state governors.

In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a DeWine campaign spokesperson, said the event will give the governor a chance to talk about the current record-high gas prices, laying the blame at President Joe Biden.

Gov. DeWine looks forward to joining former Vice President Pence to discuss real solutions to give Ohioans much-needed gas-price relief, McLaughlin said.

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Gov. Mike DeWine to appear with ex-Vice President Mike Pence in Ohio later this week - cleveland.com