Former Texas Governor Rick Perry Suspends Presidential Campaign
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ST. LOUIS (CBSDFW.COM) - With poll numbers remaining in the low single digits, his campaign having run out of cash, and many of his staffers leaving, former Texas Governor Rick Perry announced Friday afternoon he was suspending his campaign for President.
Perry did so during a speech to the social conservative group Eagle Forum in St. Louis.
While analysts say his announcement isn't a surprise, it did leave Texas Eagle Forum President and former Texas Republican Party Chair Cathie Adams stunned.
Adams says she was in the room while Perry said he was putting his campaign on hold.
She says she had just spoken with the former Governor before his speech, and he never let on.
Even though Adams says she wasn't supporting Perry for President this time around, she still had tears in her eyes because of what she described as his long, successful record as Governor of Texas.
As for Perry, he told the crowd, he has no regrets. "I step aside knowing our party is in good hands, and as long as we listen to the grassroots, and listen to that cause of conservatism, if we do that, then our party will be in good hands."
One of Perry's supporters, Roy Bailey, says he spoke with the former Governor about his decision Thursday night.
Bailey says Perry was disappointed he didn't qualify to appear in the Republican's first primetime debate in Cleveland.
Bailey says, "He felt it was a milestone that needed to happen to show the country he was up to this."
Instead, Perry appeared in what was dubbed the junior varsity debate that aired before the main event.
Bailey says Perry saw the writing on the wall. "It's refreshing to see a politician in touch with reality. I really respect him."
During his speech, Perry seemed to take a swipe at the Republican frontrunner, billionaire Donald Trump, who stirred controversy when discussing those who illegally cross the border into the United States from Mexico.
Perry warned Republicans, "We can secure the border and reform our immigration system without inflammatory rhetoric, without base appeals that divide us based on race, culture and creed. Demeaning people of Hispanic heritage is not just ignorant, it betrays the example of Christ. We cannot indulge nativist appeals that divide the nation further.
The answer to our current divider-in-chief is not to elect a Republican divider-in-chief."
Perry continued, "The conservative movement has always been about principles, not personalities. Our nominee should embody those principles. He or she must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity."
The former Governor and Trump criticized each other on the campaign trail ever since Perry jumped into the race three months ago.
In June, Perry stood before a large crowd in a hangar at Addison Airport.
Behind him, stood a C-130, the same kind of plane he piloted while he was in the Air Force.
His main themes: his service in the military and his record in Texas, which experienced an economic boom, while most other states suffered in a pro-longed recession.
Most analysts say Perry was a far more focused and disciplined candidate in his second campaign for the White House compared to the first time he ran.
Perry sported new glasses and he told me he closely studied foreign and domestic affairs for two years.
But analysts say with 17 Republicans in the race this time around, many people supported new candidates, such as Trump, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Veteran campaign manager John Weekley says most Republicans weren't willing to forget Perry's "oops" moment during a debate four years ago, when he couldn't remember a third government agency he wanted to shut down if elected. "I think it would have been very, very difficult if he did well in a debate, he'd have to hit them out of the park every time to just go up in the numbers, and I just think that wasn't going to happen."
Weekley says if a Republican is elected President in 2016, he wouldn't be surprised if Perry is selected for a Cabinet position -- perhaps Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of Commerce.
For now, Roy Bailey believes most of Perry's supporters and donors will head to Cruz's campaign, which is in fourth place nationally.
During his speech, Perry told the crowd not to feel sorry for him. "As I approach the next chapter in life, I do so with the love of my life by my side, Anita Perry. We have our house in the country, we have two beautiful children and two adorable grandchildren, four dogs, and the best sunset from our front porch that you could ever imagine. Life is good. And I am a blessed man."
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