Perry officially declares candidacy
Washington Post Saturday August 13, 2011
CHARLESTON, S.C.-Texas Gov. Rick Perry officially declared his presidential candidacy Saturday, telling a crowd in this key primary state that he will run for the nomination to challenge President Obama in 2012.
In front of a crowd of 500 at the Francis Marion Hotel, Perry used his first speech as a candidate to brag about job creation in Texas under his leadership and argue he could dramatically improve the American economy if elected president.
“I do not accept the path that America is on…Because a renewed nation needs a renewed president. It is time to get America working again,” Perry told the cheering crowd. “I declare to you today as a candidate for president of the United States of America.”
Perry’s speech, coming on the same day Republicans in Ames, Iowa will cast the first votes of the GOP nomination contest, is the start of a campaign launch that includes a stop in New Hampshire later Saturday and then several days of events in the Hawkeye State starting Sunday.
“In reality, though this is the just most recent downgrade,” Perry said, referring to the recent downgrading of the U.S. credit rating. “The fact is for nearly three years, President Obama has been downgrading American jobs, he’s been downgrading our standing in the world, he’s been downgrading our financial stability, he’s been downgrading confidence and downgrading the hope of a better future for our children.”
Perry’s late entrance thrusts into an already-crowded Republican field a candidate with the potential to win the GOP primary, even though some of his rivals have a substantial headstart on the Texas governor because they have been campaigning for months. While Perry was not drafted into the race, conservative activists pushed for him to run in part because of dissatisfaction with the current field of Republican candidates.
His candidacy could solidify the Republican field, which has been unsettled for months as a series of figures from Donald Trump to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels have flirted but ultimately opted against running. 2008 GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she is still considering a candidacy, but has made little effort to build the kind of operation that would be required to run.
The governor of the nation’s second largest state for 11 years, Perry enters the campaign with a host of advantages: a strong fundraising base, popularity with both tea party and religious conservatives and job growth in Texas under his leadership even as the national economy continues to struggle.
Perry, 61, has spent weeks preparing for a campaign and already has some critical elements in place. He has courted key party donors and will hold a series of fundraisers over the next month. In support of his candidacy, a group of his former aides has started a “super-PAC,”a political committee that can raise unlimited sums.
