# Greg Pence
**Greg Pence** (Gregory Pence; born 1956) is an American businessman and retired politician who represented Indiana's 6th congressional district in the [United States House of Representatives](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-house-of-representatives) as a Republican from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173). He is the older brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, whose former seat he won after his brother had held the district for 12 years[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b787bba3e2506c60d672ef3bb7655f82).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana, 1956[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173) |
| Education and service | B.A., Loyola University Chicago, 1979; M.B.A., 1985; U.S. Marine Corps, 1979–1983[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173) |
| Business career | President of Kiel Brothers Oil Company, 1998–2004; later owner of the 72,000-square-foot Exit 76 Antique Mall in Edinburgh, Indiana[3](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/pdf/CDIR-2022-10-26.pdf) • [4](https://rollcall.com/2017/08/16/could-there-soon-be-another-pence-in-washington/) |
| House service | Representative, Indiana's 6th District, 116th through 118th Congresses (2019–2025); Energy and Commerce Committee[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173) • [3](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/pdf/CDIR-2022-10-26.pdf) |
| Election margins | Won the 2018 general election with 154,260 votes (63.82%) and the 2020 general election with 225,319 votes (68.65%)[5](https://election.org/person/greg-pence-p000615) |
| Departure | Announced January 9, 2024 that he would not seek a fourth term[2](https://apnews.com/article/b787bba3e2506c60d672ef3bb7655f82) |
## Early life and business career
Pence was born in [Columbus, Indiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbus-indiana), and graduated from Columbus North High School in 1975. He earned a B.A. from [Loyola University Chicago](https://www.edgepedia.org/loyola-university-chicago) in 1979 and an M.B.A. from the same university in 1985, and served in the [United States Marine Corps](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-marine-corps) from 1979 to 1983. He then worked in the oil industry, as a retail consultant, and as a small business owner[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173).
**Kiel Brothers Oil.** The eldest of the six Pence siblings, he served as president of Kiel Brothers Oil Company from 1998 to 2004, a company that operated about 200 KB Oil gas stations and Tobacco Road convenience stores in Indiana, southern Illinois, and Kentucky[4](https://rollcall.com/2017/08/16/could-there-soon-be-another-pence-in-washington/) • [3](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/pdf/CDIR-2022-10-26.pdf). He resigned from the company in 2004 after it filed for bankruptcy and left the state of Indiana with more than $21 million in unpaid environmental cleanup costs, according to an Associated Press investigation[6](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-04/capitol-riot-loyalty-test-mike-pence-brother).
Before that, his background in government was minimal: the Indianapolis Star reports that, lacking any credentials in environmental matters, he held a deputy post at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in 2005 while his brother was serving in Congress.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-brother-congress-run-gregory-full-of-s-word-a8009201.html) Greg and his wife Denise later became known in the business world for owning the Exit 76 Antique Mall in Edinburgh, a 72,000-square-foot space they purchased in 2006[4](https://rollcall.com/2017/08/16/could-there-soon-be-another-pence-in-washington/).
## Entry into Congress
Pence filed in 2017 to run for the eastern Indiana congressional seat his brother Mike had held for 12 years before becoming governor of Indiana[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-brother-congress-run-gregory-full-of-s-word-a8009201.html). A campaign video presented him as a Republican committed to "fiscal responsibility, the sanctity of life" and "our Second Amendment rights," and he pledged to "fight to help Donald Trump help our district"[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-brother-congress-run-gregory-full-of-s-word-a8009201.html). His brother's Great America Committee political action committee contributed $5,400 to his campaign, one of numerous high-profile PACs supporting him[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/05/04/mike-pences-brother-is-running-for-congress-religious-conservatives-like-mike-but-will-they-vote-for-greg/).
He was elected to the House of Representatives on November 6, 2018, winning the general election with 154,260 votes, 63.82 percent of the total[3](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/pdf/CDIR-2022-10-26.pdf) • [5](https://election.org/person/greg-pence-p000615). In the House he served on the Energy and Commerce Committee[3](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/pdf/CDIR-2022-10-26.pdf), and he was reelected in 2020 with 225,319 votes, or 68.65 percent[5](https://election.org/person/greg-pence-p000615).
## January 6 and its aftermath
**The riot itself.** On January 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify the 2020 election results, pro-Trump rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence!" after Trump publicly pressed the vice president to overturn the outcome. Greg Pence hid during the attack alongside his brother, his sister-in-law [Karen Pence](https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-pence), and [Charlotte Pence Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlotte-pence-bond)[9](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/capitol-riot-commission-greg-pence-b1850785.html). The brothers' escape was caught on security cameras minutes after Trump had excoriated [Mike Pence](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-pence) on Twitter for lacking the "courage" to use his ceremonial role to change the result[6](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-04/capitol-riot-loyalty-test-mike-pence-brother).
**Opposition to the commission.** In May 2021 the House voted 252 to 175, with 35 Republicans in favor, to create an independent commission to investigate the attack, which had caused five fatalities including a Capitol police officer[9](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/capitol-riot-commission-greg-pence-b1850785.html). Greg Pence opposed the commission despite the threats to his brother. He described the proposed speaker-led commission as a "hand-picked jury" that would "carry out her pre-determined political execution of Donald Trump," calling the House speaker "Hanging Judge Nancy Pelosi" in a statement[9](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/capitol-riot-commission-greg-pence-b1850785.html).
The Los Angeles Times noted that Greg Pence's proximity to the riot and to his brother's decision made him a prospective witness for the House committee investigating the insurrection[6](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-04/capitol-riot-loyalty-test-mike-pence-brother).
## Retirement
On January 9, 2024, Pence announced in a statement on X that he would not file for reelection to a fourth term representing Indiana's 6th District, which spans parts of central, eastern, and south-central Indiana. He did not give a reason. He wrote that, as a former Marine officer, he had approached the job with purpose and that after three terms he had decided not to file[2](https://apnews.com/article/b787bba3e2506c60d672ef3bb7655f82).
His retirement came in a wave of Republican departures: he was the fourth Republican and second Hoosier to announce plans to retire that month, part of a dozen retiring House Republicans, and his departure, along with Larry Bucshon's, left four of Indiana's nine congressional districts open without an incumbent heading into the 2024 election[10](https://www.axios.com/2024/01/09/greg-pence-republican-retire-congress-indiana) • [11](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2024/01/10/pence-bucshon-congressional-retirements). His term ended on January 3, 2025[1](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173).
## References
1. [PENCE, Gregory, U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/25769805173)
2. [US Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana, former VP Mike Pence's older brother, won't seek reelection, Associated Press (2024)](https://apnews.com/article/b787bba3e2506c60d672ef3bb7655f82)
3. [Indiana, 117th Congress, Congressional Directory (GovInfo)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/pdf/CDIR-2022-10-26.pdf)
4. [Could There Soon Be Another Pence in Washington?, Roll Call (2017)](https://rollcall.com/2017/08/16/could-there-soon-be-another-pence-in-washington/)
5. [Greg Pence: Federal Office and Election History, Election.org](https://election.org/person/greg-pence-p000615)
6. [Jan. 6 riot was test for Greg Pence, VP Mike Pence's brother, Los Angeles Times (2022)](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-04/capitol-riot-loyalty-test-mike-pence-brother)
7. [Mike Pence's brother to run for Congress, The Independent (2017)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-brother-congress-run-gregory-full-of-s-word-a8009201.html)
8. [Mike Pence's brother is running for Congress. Religious conservatives like Mike, but will they vote for Greg?, The Washington Post (2018)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/05/04/mike-pences-brother-is-running-for-congress-religious-conservatives-like-mike-but-will-they-vote-for-greg/)
9. [Mike Pence's brother opposes Capitol riot probe despite mob threats to 'hang' former vice president, The Independent (2021)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/capitol-riot-commission-greg-pence-b1850785.html)
10. [Mike Pence's brother is latest Republican retiring from Congress, Axios (2024)](https://www.axios.com/2024/01/09/greg-pence-republican-retire-congress-indiana)
11. [Pence, Bucshon latest to announce congressional exits, Axios Indianapolis (2024)](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2024/01/10/pence-bucshon-congressional-retirements)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Politicians and government officeholders (biographies) › US House members › Midwestern state representatives › Surnames M to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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