Thread: Texas Gov. Rick Perry won't seek re-election.

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry won't seek re-election.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he won't run again

USA TODAY ‎- by Catalina Camia ‎- 3 minutes ago
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Monday he will not run again in 2014, bringing an end his tenure as the longest-serving governor in Lone Star state ...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he won't run again

Catalina Camia and Rick Jervis , USA TODAY 1:42 p.m. EDT July 8, 2013


Texas Gov. Rick Perry was a speaker at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference.(Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP)
Story Highlights

• Republican to announce political plans in San Antonio
• Perry, already the longest-serving governor in Texas history, is up for re-election in 2014
• He has said running for president again is "an option"

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Monday he will not seek re-election next year, bringing an end to a record run as chief executive of the Lone Star State.
"The time has come to pass on the mantle of leadership," Perry said at a news conference in San Antonio surrounded by hundreds of supporters.
Perry, 63, is already the longest-serving governor in Texas history and has been the Lone Star state's chief executive since December 2000 when George W. Bush left to become president. Perry's departure sets up the biggest political shuffle in Texas since he took office.
The Republican was coy during an appearance on Fox News Sunday about his future, saying only that another presidential bid was "an option out there." He also said his attention is more focused now on a special session of the Texas Legislature, as lawmakers consider a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy that would also close most of the state's abortion clinics.
Perry announced his plans at a Caterpillar dealership owned by Peter Holt, one of his top financial supporters and the chairman and CEO of the San Antonio Spurs.
For much of the nation, Perry is known for his ill-fated White House bid last year. Once considered a top conservative alternative to eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney, Perry briefly was leading in early public opinion polls but faltered quickly.
His "oops" moment during a televised debate, in which he forgot the name of the third federal agency he wanted to eliminate, solidified for many that Perry wasn't ready for the White House. The Texan dropped out of the 2012 race ahead of the South Carolina primary.
Perry poked fun at his own debate gaffe on late-night TV and mocked his own candidacy during a speech last year. "The weakest Republican field in history — and they kicked my butt," Perry joked at the Gridiron Club dinner.
Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said Perry "loves to keep people guessing" but noted the signs are there that the governor will not run again for his current job in 2014. Making another presidential run, Jillson told USA TODAY, is an entirely different enterprise.
"If he plans to run for president again, he needs to be free of the governor's office so he can give his full attention to putting together a top-flight campaign team and prepare himself substantively, especially on foreign policy and national security issues," Jillson said.
Some polls, however, suggest Perry's slumping popularity among Texans. A survey released last week by Public Policy Polling showed only 31% of voters think Perry should seek re-election next year, compared with 62% who think it's time for him to step aside. He is among the most unpopular governors in the country, the poll said, with only 41% of voters approving of the way he does his job and 54% who disapprove.
Still, Texas Democrats will have a hard time unraveling the two-decade dominance of Republicans, who have built a well-funded campaign infrastructure across the state, said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.
"The Democrats' problems in Texas are much bigger than Rick Perry," Henson said.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, viewed as an up-and-coming Republican, has been making moves as though he is running for governor. He recently released a video, narrated by former senator-TV actor Fred Thompson, introducing himself to voters – even though Abbott has won statewide elections five times. Abbott also has amassed $18 million in campaign funds.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/07/08/rick-perry-texas-governor-president/2497773/