WASHINGTON — Sources close to Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry say that the events of the last week have brought America’s longest-serving governor to the cusp of an announcement, FOX News reported Friday.
The implosion of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign Thursday freed up Perry’s political wingmen, Dave Carney and Rob Johnson, of whom are now said to be headed to Austin to prepare a Perry run. Both men previously advised Perry before signing on with Gingrich.
Also this week, sources say Perry got the thumbs up from the Texas moneymen whose support he sought before launching a campaign. A Wall Street Journal piece on the governor also helped convince his advisers that there was East Coast interest in a Perry candidacy.
“Ready for launch,” said one adviser to Perry when asked about a possible presidential run.
Gingrich’s collapse also leaves a major hole in the field: There is no longer a viable Southerner seeking the nomination of the party of the South.
Perry is getting ready to launch a campaign that will fill that gap and draw the sharpest contrast with the current frontrunner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
While establishment Republicans have been pining for a candidate who is ready to have a detailed policy debate about entitlement reform and regulatory uncertainty, the rank and file wants someone who is ready for a throwdown.
While Perry has developed a reputation as a policy lightweight, he knows how to fire up a crowd and give the kind of straight talk Republicans are itching for.
Perry’s rise may push some uncommitted voters in the northeast into the arms of Romney as the election becomes more geographical and more of a clear Tea Party-versus-establishment contest. But it will also tend to galvanize the roughly 20 percent of undecided voters.
Another challenge for Perry will be overcoming his previously prickly relationship with the political veterans who populated the Bush political organization. Perry and George W. Bush have an old rivalry, but the Bush presidency left an indelible mark on the world of political professionals, many of whom have embraced former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and, to a lesser degree, Romney.
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