UPDATED: Berman could drop bid for governor if Perry embraces ideas combating illegal immigration

By W. Gardner Selby
Austin American Statesman

East Texas Rep. Leo Berman lunched with Gov. Rick Perry last Thursday—as previewed in my Thursday column here—and gave him four bones to chew on that could lead Berman to cancel his declared plans to run in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary already expected to be headlined by the Perry face-off with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Berman, R-Tyler, said afterward that if Perry embraces his suggestions related to illegal mmigration, “it would satisfy many of the people who have asked me to do this (run for governor). He’s got the money, the name, the position. I would probably endorse him and get out of the race myself.â€