Rick Perry Is Running For President
AUSTIN (KRLD 1080/AP) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry is running for president.
That's the word from Perry spokesman Mark Miner.
Perry will announce his intentions to run for the GOP nomination on Saturday as he visits early primary states of South Carolina and New Hampshire.
Perry's candidacy is likely to shake the GOP field.
His announcement that he is joining the field will come two days after a debate in Iowa and on the same day as his rivals participate in a test vote in the leadoff caucus state.
Perry admitted he also has a plane ready to go. Some of my sources in Austin say the jet in a hangar at an undisclosed location with "Rick Perry for America" emblazoned on the sides that's pre-positioned in South Carolina, ready to fire up as soon as Perry's done speaking at Red State on Saturday to take him to Iowa.
The governor's money machine is said to be ready to take off as well. Dave Levinthal at Politico says Perry is the "Sam Houston of political money."
Levinthal talks with Braddock about Perry:
Podcast
So how long before Perry's Republican rivals begin to attack him? I sought out two of the best political minds in Austin: Democratic Strategist Harold Cook and GOP Consultant Ted Delisi.
Ted thinks the other Republicans in the race will leave Perry alone, at least for now. But, Harold thinks they'll be gunnin' for Perry pretty soon after he's officially out of the gate on Saturday.
Braddock, Cook & Delisi's roundtable on Perry:
