Rick Perry

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 47th Governor of Texas from December 2000 to January 2015. A Republican, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was the longest-serving governor in Texas state history.

Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and is the fourth Texas governor (after Allan Shivers, Price Daniel and John Connally) to serve three terms. With a tenure in office of 14 years, 30 days, Perry was, at the time he left office, the second longest-serving current U.S. governor (after Terry Branstad of Iowa). Perry served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 and again in 2011. In July 2013, Perry announced that he was retiring as governor and would not seek re-election in 2014.

On August 15, 2014, Perry was indicted on two felony charges related to his actions as governor. The charge against Perry of "coercion of a public servant" was dismissed in July 2015 when an appellate court ruled the statute unconstitutional. As of November 2015, Perry still faces one charge of "abuse of official capacity" in relation to his veto of funding for a state district attorney's office.

Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2012

The Rick Perry presidential campaign of 2012 began when Rick Perry, four-term Governor of Texas, announced via a spokesman on August 11, 2011, that he would be running for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for president of the United States.

Perry was considered as a potential candidate since as early as the 2008 presidential election, initially denying he was interested in the office but later becoming more open-minded. He formally launched his campaign on August 13, 2011, in Charleston, South Carolina. While he was initially successful in fundraising and was briefly considered a serious contender for the nomination, he struggled during the debates and his poll numbers began to decline. After finishing fifth with just over 10% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses on January 3, 2012, Perry considered dropping out of the presidential race but did not. After a poor showing in New Hampshire and with "lagging" poll numbers in South Carolina, Perry formally announced he was suspending his campaign on January 19, 2012.