(Updated)
Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) plans to endorse Rudy Giuliani at an early morning news conference, Giuliani campaign advisers confirmed.
Perry, who succeeded George W. Bush as governor, would be the first sitting governor to endorse Giuliani. He brings added cachet as a Southerner and a social conservative, although he is not uniformly well-regarded by conservative elites in Washington. He may -- or may not be -- a vice presidential prospect. He is in the party's center on immigration, and has clashed, at times, with various wings of the Texas Republican Party.
Giuliani's finance team is top-heavy with Texas Republicans, and the Perry and Giuliani circles intersect.
A person who answered the phone in Perry's press office two hours ago referred all comment to Perry's press secretary, Robert Black, who did not immediately return a message. Perry was re-elected in 2006 with 39% percent of the vote in a three-way race. He is said to be a candidate for the chairman's spot at the Republican Governors Association.
Update: seems like the Right of Texas blog got there before I did.
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Does Perry really make sense as a running mate? Frst, he comes from a state that in any reasonably close presidential election wil vote Republican anyway. Second, he may be *satisfactory* to social conservatives, but Giuliani needs someone whom they not only can accept but support enthusiastically enough to make up for their doubts about Giuliani himself.
From that viewpoint, Huckabee makes more sense, especially since he comes from a state Hillary might well carry without him on the ticket. (You don't think Arkansas' six electoral votes are important? Well, If Hillary wins them and also New Mexico and Iowa, which went for Gore in 2000 and just barely went for Bush in 2004, then--if she keeps all the states Kerry won--she wins *even without Ohio*.)
Posted by David T | October 16, 2007 9:05 PM