Perry Hopes to Gain Ground This Week in Iowa
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Texas Governor Rick Perry has been traveling around Iowa the last couple of weeks, trying to gain some momentum going into next week’s Iowa caucuses.
Political pundits say Iowa is where a candidate goes to refine their message. And after two weeks of a bus tour, you can see Perry’s message changing. During the first half of the tour he focused on what he calls his “outsider” status – moving calls for a part-time Congress from the end of his speech to the beginning. So far this week, he’s been telling people they don’t have to settle for candidates with high poll numbers.
“I’ve got great respect for all those folks that are on the stage with me, the ones that are so-called front runners right now,” Perry told the crowd, “but you gotta ask yourself, if we replace a Democratic insider for a Republican insider, is Washington going to change?”
The focus of this tour has been about asking Iowa Republicans for a 2nd chance. Based on the size of the crowds and the reaction Perry is getting at the tour stops, people are giving him one.
Len Huffman attended an event to hear Perry Wednesday morning in Urbandale, Iowa. He says Perry’s bus tour is making a difference, especially since many Iowans haven’t decided who to caucus for on January 3rd.
“I know a lot of people at this table here, we were all Herman Cain guys and girls. When he imploded we started looking around again, Perry’s my choice,” Huffman said.
But if the trip is improving Perry’s caucus chances, it hasn’t shown up in the polls yet. A new CNN/Time Magazine poll out Wednesday had the governor in 5th place. The big winner so far this month is former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. He jumped from 6th to 3rd place.
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