Full coverage: Rick Perry

Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press

Rick Perry

Texas governor | Age 61
Declared Aug. 13, 2011 | Withdrew Jan. 19, 2012

Perry, who succeeded George W. Bush as Texas governor, is the state's longest-serving chief executive. The outspoken conservative opposed federal stimulus spending, rejecting some funds for his state in 2009. He is a pro-business tax-cutter who has presided over a period of growth in Texas.

He is a strong fundraiser who has never lost an election and has been a darling of social conservatives and tea party activists.

Perry is married with two children.

— Associated Press

11:28 AM PST, January 10, 2012

Rick Perry casts Mitt Romney as a greedy Wall Street 'vulture'

Rick Perry, the lone Republican campaigning for president Tuesday in South Carolina, likened Mitt Romney to a greedy Wall Street “vulture” who was indifferent to the plight of workers who lost their jobs in deals that enriched his investment firm.

7:26 PM PST, January 7, 2012

Rick Perry: 'I would send troops back into Iraq'

As president, Rick Perry “would send troops back into Iraq,” the Texas governor declared during Saturday's ABC/Yahoo GOP presidential debate.

9:18 PM PST, January 3, 2012

Rick Perry suspending campaign after disappointing finish in Iowa caucuses

After a disappointing finish in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, Rick Perry is suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

7:38 PM PST, January 3, 2012

Iowa caucus results a setback for one-time favorites Perry, Gingrich

Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were in a tight, three-way race in the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, based on partial returns in the opening vote of the 2012 Republican presidential campaign.

11:47 AM PST, January 2, 2012

Rick Perry: Iowa caucuses only the beginning of 'marathon' GOP race

Facing weak poll numbers and the very real possibility of a bottom-tier finish in Iowa's kickoff caucuses, Rick Perry on Monday likened the 2012 Republican presidential contest to a marathon that was still in its first mile.

5:55 PM PST, December 30, 2011

Iowa radio talkers go for Gingrich, Perry

Two influential conservative talk radio hosts announced their picks for the Republican presidential nomination, and to no one’s surprise, neither favors former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the front-runner in polls.

4:33 PM PST, November 7, 2011

Rick Perry says it's Herman Cain's 'turn in the barrel'

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the Republican candidate who may have the most to gain if Herman Cain tumbles in the polls, did not rush to his rival's defense Monday night during a radio interview – instead stating that scrutiny of Cain’s record was to be expected given his frontrunner status in national polls.

5:09 PM PST, December 28, 2011

Rick Perry makes conservative case as caucuses draw near

Rick Perry continued to barnstorm his way across Iowa on Wednesday, frenetically trying to locate some last-minute momentum that would keep his rollercoaster campaign on track.

3:58 PM PST, December 27, 2011

Rick Perry sues to get on Virginia primary ballot

Rick Perry is taking his fight to get on the Virginia primary ballot to the courts, challenging the constitutionality of the commonwealth's "onerous" qualification requirements.

1:07 PM PST, December 20, 2011

Rick Perry paints Mitt Romney as job killer in new ad

Mitt Romney believes his background in the private sector is an asset. Rick Perry sees it as a liability—and in a new ad tries to portray Romney’s venture capital work as a job destroyer.

1:17 PM PST, December 16, 2011

Rick Perry collects early retirement, owes student loan

Texas Gov. Rick Perry makes nearly $225,000 a year, but a good chunk of it comes not from his state salary, but from his retirement benefits.

6:34 PM PST, December 15, 2011

Rick Perry compares himself to Tim Tebow at Iowa debate

Rick Perry needs a fourth-quarter comeback to win in Iowa. So at the GOP debate in Sioux City on Thursday night, he compared himself to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who has captured the attention of NFL fans by leading his team to six consecutive wins, several in last-minute fashion.

12:57 PM PST, December 14, 2011

Rick Perry launches bus tour in late-stage Iowa effort

Rick Perry, trying to crawl his way back into presidential contention, began barnstorming Iowa on Wednesday, urging voters to reconsider his candidacy.

3:45 PM PST, December 8, 2011

Rick Perry ties Gingrich, Romney to 'Obamacare'

Mitt Romney isn't the only candidate with a healthcare problem in the GOP primary.

1:40 PM PST, December 7, 2011

Rick Perry seeks to repair rift over foreign aid to Israel

Rick Perry said Wednesday that U.S. assistance for Israel would increase under his administration, as he sought to ease Jewish concerns that he'd cut off foreign aid.

10:24 AM PST, December 5, 2011

Paul, Perry and Gingrich hit Iowa airwaves with new ads [Video]

Ron Paul as agitator. Rick Perry as outsider. Newt Gingrich as uniter.

6:21 AM PST, December 1, 2011

Rick Perry plays for Iowa's evangelical vote with new TV ad

He may be down in the polls but Rick Perry still has more money to spend than most of his rivals. On Thursday he went on the air in Iowa with a 30-second TV spot aimed directly at that state's potent bloc of evangelical Christian conservatives, expected to cast half the votes in next month’s caucuses.

11:36 AM PST, November 29, 2011

21 or 18? Rick Perry misses the mark on voting age

Texas Gov. Rick Perry campaigned in New Hampshire on Tuesday to tout his endorsement from Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., but it was the GOP presidential candidate's misstatement of the voting age that caught the attention of reporters during a speech at St. Anselm College.

8:05 AM PST, November 29, 2011

Rick Perry turns to Joe Arpaio for help on immigration issue

Texas Gov. Rick Perry had hoped to assuage concerns about his views on illegal immigration by winning the backing of tough-talking Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., but at his first event with Arpaio in New Hampshire on Tuesday he was confronted by a voter who said his record on in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas had probably cost him her vote.

6:15 PM PST, November 22, 2011

Michele Bachmann calls Rick Perry 'naive' on Pakistan

Michele Bachmann called Rick Perry "highly naive" for saying he would cut off aid to Pakistan, part of a contentious round of questioning in tonight's GOP debate about U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

6:19 PM PST, November 9, 2011

Rick Perry draws a blank in latest debate flub [Video]

And just like that, all of Rick Perry's past debate struggles were forgotten. But only because he had topped them all, and then some.

7:26 AM PST, November 10, 2011

Rick Perry says his campaign goes on despite debate gaffe [Video]

It was a night to forget -- literally. But Rick Perry did his best Thursday to try to pick up the pieces after a debate flop for the ages, saying in a battery of morning show interviews that he will press forward with his presidential campaign.

1:21 PM PST, November 10, 2011

Can Rick Perry play 'oops' for laughs?

Can Rick Perry laugh his way back into contention? His campaign seems to think it can't hurt, adding a pair of comedy shows to his itinerary as part of a sudden media blitz aimed at minimizing the damage from his 53-second debate lapse.

7:21 PM PST, November 9, 2011

Rick Perry on epic debate lapse: 'I stepped in it, man'

Rick Perry made a rare appearance in the media spin room moments after Wednesday's Republican debate, and was mobbed by reporters asking him if he could recover.

10:18 AM PDT, October 31, 2011

Rick Perry's new mantra: I'm a doer, not a talker

In a nod to his poor showing in the GOP debates, Rick Perry declares in his latest campaign advertisement that he's a "doer, not a talker."

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