Pence to hit Biden on gas, price hikes in N.H. tour

Former Vice President Mike Pence is heading to New Hampshire on Wednesday to rail against President Biden’s tax-and-spending agenda, with a loaded schedule akin to a presidential campaign, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: With four events, Pence’s agenda alone will make clear he isn't waiting on a decision from former President Trump about his own presidential intentions. Pence is looking to position himself to be his party’s nominee in 2024.

• “The effects of Joe Biden’s reckless tax-and-spend agenda are a gut punch to millions of Americans looking to fill up their tank, feed their family or finish their Christmas shopping,” Pence told Axios in an interview.
• “Nowhere has felt this radical attack on American workers more than New Hampshire.”
• "While Republicans have offered nothing but extremism and obstruction, President Biden's Build Back Better agenda will continue to create jobs, lower costs and cut taxes for working families while making corporations pay their fair share," said Daniel Wessel, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. "The record speaks for itself."

Driving the news: Pence will start his day in Derry, New Hampshire, with a visit to the Federation of Republican Women Christmas party. The stop will include a photo line.

• In the afternoon, Pence will address the Greater Manchester and Nashua Home Builders Association, giving him an opportunity to talk about high labor costs and hit Biden on inflation.
• He’ll also appear at a “Save our Paychecks” event hosted Heritage Action for America, a conservative group.
• He'll wrap up by headlining an evening fundraiser for the New Hampshire Senate Republican PAC, as Fox News reported last month.

The big picture: If he enters the 2024 contest, Pence is set to face competition beyond just Trump.

• Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has taunted Trump for losing to Biden in 2020.

• He told "Axios on HBO" he won't back down from a fight with Trump.
• "I've never walked away from an argument, no matter who stood on the other side," Christie told Axios' Mike Allen.

Go deeper: Pence made a point this year to visit all four early voting states, making stops in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. He also visited New Hampshire in June.

• In addition, a political group founded by his former chief of staff, Marc Short, has been flooding the airwaves with ads attacking Biden's proposals.

Between the lines: Pence will be facing a Republican electorate that helped Trump win the New Hampshire primary by 20 points in 2016.

• That said, the former president lost the state twice in the general election.
• Pence said he won’t shy away from his record as Trump’s vice president.
• “Our elected leaders in Washington should be working to build on the pro-growth policies of the Trump-Pence administration, not finding new ways to tax hardworking Americans,” he told Axios.