Perry to Announce Re-Election Bid This Afternoon

By Shelley Kofler, KERA News

SAN ANTONIO – This afternoon, at the Holt Caterpillar dealership in San Antonio,  Rick Perry is expected to reveal whether he will seek a fourth term as governor.  The dealership’s CEO Peter Holt also owns the San Antonio Spurs and is a big Perry donor.  KERA’s Shelley Kofler says the political futures of other Republicans depend on what Perry has decided.

It’s little bit like a game of chess.  If Rick Perry decides to remove himself from the Texas playing board, another Republican official –Attorney General Gregg Abbott- is likely to leave his job and campaign for the governor’s position.  That would leave the attorney general’s slot open, and a number of locally elected Republicans, including State Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas, could compete for that job.  That would then put their local seats up for grabs.

Many pundits last week seemed to think Perry is ready to put that scenario in motion.  At the end of this term next year he will have served 14 years as governor.  SMU Political Science Professor Cal Jillson says Perry may be stepping aside so he can devote time to another presidential campaign in 2016.

CAL JILLSON:  “Getting a national staff, putting the fundraising in place, and building his own intellectual resources to run for the presidency.  He needs that time.”

While Perry would need a lot of time to undo mistakes he made in his last presidential campaign, Jillson says he’ll be difficult to beat if he runs again for governor.

JILLSON:  “He’s got a very thick rolodex and fundraising ability to put up $30, $40 million dollars for an election is there.  The only question is whether Greg Abbott, the attorney general, with an $18 million war chest decides to challenge Perry simply because he’s tired of being the AG which he’s been since 2002.”

Perry has said he and Abbott have promised not to run against each other for the Republican nomination.  But what if they did?

JILLSON:  “Abbott would be competitive because as attorney general he has brought a series of cases on Texas’ behalf against the federal government.  Those cases have really made him a hero with the conservative, tea party elements in Texas and they are strong in the Republican primary.  But Perry knows how to win the governorship.  So I think you have to put your money on Perry against Abbott.”

So will he or won’t he run for governor again?  Even Perry’s closest advisors claim they don’t know.  But around one o’clock this afternoon expect Twitter, Facebook and all other manner of social media to glow red-hot as Perry sets the stage for next year’s statewide elections.