Perry Thanks Supporters Before Caucuses
Gov. Perry with supporters at his campaign headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday. Photo by Ben Philpott/KUT News. The two Texas Republican candidates vying for a shot at the White House will see how their efforts in Iowa have paid off after Tuesday night’s caucuses. Polls show Congressman Ron Paul likely could end up in one of the top three spots. Some polls put him in first place.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is polling farther back in the field, but he sounded confident Tuesday morning during a rally with supporters at his campaign headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa.
“There is one candidate on that stage that has the executive experience to get America back working,” Perry’s wife, Anita, told supporters to cheers from the crowd. “As the longest serving governor in the State of Texas, in the second largest state in the nation with the 13th largest stand-alone economy in the world, this man has the experience, the leadership, the fortitude, the courage to get America back working.”
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and several Texas state leaders including Comptroller Susan Combs and Attorney General Greg Abbott joined the crowd of Perry supporters at the event. More than 500 volunteers paid their own way to Iowa over the last couple of weeks, to make calls and knock on doors for Perry.
Governor Perry reiterated now-familiar campaign themes of preserving state’s rights and the need to diminish Washington’s role in everyday life.
“This election is about stopping a president of the United States and his Administration that is abusing the Constitution of this country, that is putting America on a track to bankruptcy. And folks, we are going to take America back. That’s what this is about,” Perry told supporters.
You can explore more about what’s at stake in Iowa and watch the candidates’ latest campaign ads at KUTNews.org. KUT will also have live coverage of tonight’s Iowa caucuses, with reporters at the campaign headquarters of Governor Perry and Congressman Ron Paul. It starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. on KUT 90.5 and online at KUT.org.
