By Holly Bailey
Rick Perry's top political aide, Dave Carney, says the Texas governor is "50-50" on whether he'll jump in the race for the 2012 GOP nomination. Carney, a longtime strategist with Perry, says any decision is still weeks away.
Carney, who resigned earlier this month from Newt Gingrich's campaign, told Politico's Jonathan Martin that Perry is still trying to determine whether he really has the desire to go through the rigors of a potentially bruising presidential campaign.
"I think that's part of the decision-making process when you take a look exactly at what it's going to take to do this," Carney tells Martin. "Then it's gut time."
The governor's gut aside, the most important immediate factor is whether Perry can quickly assemble a campaign infrastructure to match the operations that some of his potential GOP rivals, including Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, have invested years building.
Perry and his team have already started reaching out to potential donors and bundlers, according to the Wall Street Journal's Neil King Jr. and Patrick O'Conner. They've also started plotting strategy for how Perry might compete in Iowa, a wide-open race, especially since Romney and Jon Huntsman have signaled they aren't likely to mount an intensive campaign there.
Last week, Perry said he believes GOP voters want more "options" in the 2012 field—hinting that he sees an opening for himself.
Still, Carney insists Perry is still at least several weeks away from making a final decision on the race—and could wait until fall, though he tells Martin that Perry is unlikely to do that.
"I would not advocate waiting that long," he said. "If he's going to go, he's not going to pussy-foot around."
(Photo of Perry: Patrick Semansky/AP)
Carney, who resigned earlier this month from Newt Gingrich's campaign, told Politico's Jonathan Martin that Perry is still trying to determine whether he really has the desire to go through the rigors of a potentially bruising presidential campaign.
"I think that's part of the decision-making process when you take a look exactly at what it's going to take to do this," Carney tells Martin. "Then it's gut time."
The governor's gut aside, the most important immediate factor is whether Perry can quickly assemble a campaign infrastructure to match the operations that some of his potential GOP rivals, including Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, have invested years building.
Perry and his team have already started reaching out to potential donors and bundlers, according to the Wall Street Journal's Neil King Jr. and Patrick O'Conner. They've also started plotting strategy for how Perry might compete in Iowa, a wide-open race, especially since Romney and Jon Huntsman have signaled they aren't likely to mount an intensive campaign there.
Last week, Perry said he believes GOP voters want more "options" in the 2012 field—hinting that he sees an opening for himself.
Still, Carney insists Perry is still at least several weeks away from making a final decision on the race—and could wait until fall, though he tells Martin that Perry is unlikely to do that.
"I would not advocate waiting that long," he said. "If he's going to go, he's not going to pussy-foot around."
(Photo of Perry: Patrick Semansky/AP)
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