Texas Governor Rick Perry to run for President HOUSTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, a staunch conservative with a Washington outsider's resume, will seek the 2012 Republican nomination for U.S. president, his spokesman said on Thursday, adding a top contender to the party's field of hopefuls. "He will make a definitive announcement on Saturday for the race," Perry spokesman Mark Miner said. Asked if Perry is indeed joining the race, Miner said, "Yes." Perry's long-awaited entry promises to reshape the crowded race for the Republican nomination, placing him instantly at or near the top and potentially pushing out several candidates who have failed to gain traction in poll ratings or fundraising. The eventual Republican nominee will seek to deny Democratic President Barack Obama a second term in office in the November 2012 election. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the early front-runner for the nomination but is seen as vulnerable. "I think Perry will shoot to the top of the polls right away, and be neck and neck with Romney," said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Texas. His campaign confirmed he would run hours before a Thursday night debate among eight other Republican hopefuls in Iowa. His formal announcement on Saturday may steal the spotlight from the Iowa straw poll, a mock election seen as an early test of the candidates' strength, also taking place that same day. Opinion polls put Perry in the top tier of Republican candidates. He has the political background as Texas' longest-serving governor and fundraising acumen to be a formidable challenger to Obama. He has never lost an election. A Christian conservative who said he felt "called" to a presidential run, Perry also touts a strong job-creation record in Texas. This could allow him to bridge the gaps between Republicans more focused on social issues such as opposition to gay marriage and abortion, the new activist Tea Party fiscal conservatives and the party's more centrist pro-business wing. His formal announcement will come a week after Perry led a religious rally that drew tens of thousands of people to a stadium in Houston last Saturday. Religious conservatives play a big role in the Republican nominating race.
Re: Lord help us Go Rick!!!!! I voted for him for Governor, and I will vote for him when he runs for the Presidency
The article makes the points I would. He should get the religious right vote and the tea party vote. If independents aren't turned off by his being a religious fellow, and his rhetoric isn't too threatening on the social side, he could poll extremely well.
Re: Lord help us A Christian conservative who said he felt "called" to a presidential run That alone scares me. But I'll watch the debates tonight to see what he is all about. Next 72 hours should be a very interesting
Re: Lord help us He held a giant prayer rally last weekend. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/06/rick-perry-speech-prayer-rally_n_920157.html
Re: Lord help us He went to what is basically a 4-year community college, Texas A & M. His college transcript is at the bottom of this. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...cript_n_919357.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008
Re: Lord help us A different article from that one. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/05/huffpost-hill---just-in-u_n_919876.html
Re: Lord help us Grades are overrated. I have a couple of D's on my transcript (in Aerodynamics, no less), but actually learned and retained the material instead of memorize-then-dump, and ended up being published my senior year for my work in the field.
Re: Lord help us I am convinced Romney cannot beat Obama. As a Mormon he can't rope in the Tea Party or "religious right" and that convinces me a third party candidate will run, splitting the GOP vote. Perry is much more suited for this type of a run.
Re: Lord help us They're overrated unless you want to use them against someone you don't like. That's the real point.
Re: Lord help us I can't believe Perry didn't attend the debate. God must have spoken for him to stay away. I found this interesting and sounds like it could be an issue during the presidential election: At an appearance before the debate, Romney was badgered by hecklers at the state fair. In response to chanting about corporations, he said that "corporations are people," a comment Democrats predicted would be a defining moment of his campaign. Romney, a wealthy businessman who has struggled with an aloof and elitist image as he tries for the GOP presidential nomination a second time, made the remark while outlining options for reducing the federal deficit and overhauling entitlement programs. Despite tea party outrage that sometimes focuses on banks and auto companies, Romney has said to applause from GOP audiences that the rights of business are being trampled under Obama to the detriment of the struggling economy. But in Thursday's audience, the line encountered resistance. http://news.yahoo.com/gop-candidates-obama-other-013646096.html
Re: Lord help us Were I Perry I wait to join in debates until after I have officially announced my candidacy. But it is true that Obama has been very punitive with big business and it is one reason they are doing very little hiring. And while I do understand the angst "big business", there has to be some give & take as it is what employs so many people and drives the economy.
Re: Lord help us I don't know where I stand on that corporation thing, just throwing it out as a potential issue. With Perry: Though undeclared as a candidate, he has been lining up donors and establishing contacts in early voting states such as Iowa. He hosted a national day of prayer in Houston last week, a nod to the strength of evangelical conservatives, an influential force in Iowa. So everyone knows he is going to run, he starts to raise money for the presidency but doesn't officially announce until after the big debate. Hate politics . . .
Re: Lord help us It's called cowardice, and it's what Texans are made of. Big on backshooting and bullshitting, but not much for backbone or character. There should be a law that Texans are not eligible to be President.
Re: Lord help us Texas has the most bush politics of any state. The governors are clowns and the districts are gerrymandered. Totally bush. There's an entire generation now who aren't familiar with that word, since the media has covered up its definition since 1981.
Re: Lord help us It was an interesting political move. If he'd have declared sooner and taken part in the debate, he'd have gotten a few minutes of air time in between the questions asked to the other candidates. The way he announced on the same day as the debate, his story was as big as the debate itself.
