Republican Candidate
Rick Perry
Born:
March 4, 1960 (Paint Creek, Texas)
Spouse:
Anita Thigpen Perry
Religion:
Methodist
Background:
Background:
- Governor of Texas, 2000-Present
- Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 1999-2000
- Texas Agriculture Commissioner, 1991-1999
The moment he entered the 2012 nomination fight Rick Perry catapulted to the front of the pack thanks to a desirable mix of resume, campaign skills and fundraising ability.
Perry has served as Texas governor for more than a decade, having won his most recent election in November 2010 by nearly 18 percentage points, which came after he handily defeated popular U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP primary.
As the former chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Perry has deep connections across the country, which should prove useful when it comes to financing his campaign. (Of course, coming from the donor rich Lone Star State also doesn’t hurt.)
Perry is viewed as a strong social conservative, which should help him with Evangelical voters who tend to play an influential role in the GOP nominating process especially in the early states of Iowa and South Carolina. He also employs fiery, anti-Washington rhetoric on the stump, a tactic that lines up well with supporters of the Tea Party movement.
That off-the-cuff style can lead to controversy, however. Days after announcing his candidacy Perry said it would be “almost treasonous” for Chairman Ben Bernanke to order the Federal Reserve to print more money between now and the 2012 election, a comment repudiated by many in his own party. Perry also said “we would treat him pretty ugly in Texas,” a statement that gave critics an opportunity to blast the governor’s Texas swagger.
Such remarks have resulted in Perry being compared to another Texas governor who was perceived to (occasionally) shoot from the hip - George W. Bush. It is a comparison that Democrats plan to continue to cultivate hoping to awaken the anti-Bush sentiment that energized their troops in 2006 and 2008.
Perry’s potential appeal among Main Street/Chamber of Commerce Republicans, social conservatives, and the Tea Party wing of the GOP could prove a threatening combination to his Republican opponents, as long as his style and rhetoric don’t overwhelm his candidacy.
