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In a scheduled press conference today, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he would NOT seek a full fourth term as Governor of Texas. Perry, who succeeded George W. Bush after he resigned the seat to become President, has been the subject of much speculation since he started barnstorming across America to get businesses to go to Texas.
Really interesting to see though as Perry has been Governor for Texas for thirteen straight years. Perry, who is most prominently well-known for his disastrous and utterly hilarious run for the Presidency in 2012, now may be looking at a redemption run in 2016 where he surely will be most likely to be elected class clown. Nonetheless, he is now free to do whatever he pleases and maybe he’ll crack the books and remember which other department agency he would want to cut if he became President in 2012.
Now what does this mean? Likely AG Greg Abbott, who likely Perry has been serving as AG since 2000, will be the Republican nominee for Governor and its more believable that Perry was either scared of a primary challenge by him or just exhausted from being Governor. For the Democrats, it will be harder to win this seat without Perry in office as no one is a fan of Governors who could’ve wound up serving for eighteen years in that position.
The onus of attention will now likely shift to see if state sen. Wendy Davis will make the plunge and challenge Abbott but Democrats might be more likely to stay away from this race. Texas, for all of the hype around it, is still very solidly red and while I do believe inroads will be made sooner rather than later in turning it “purple” (before you get to blue, you have to get to purple); I doubt sixteen months will be enough. Davis very recently was in the midst of a “war of words” between Perry and would’ve likely ended up doing much better against him than the relatively unknown Abbott.
Stay tuned for more updates.
