Politics

Rick Perry Is Going to Iowa

Rick Perry became the latest politician to announce an Iowa appearance on Tuesday, which means that the Texas governor is now on the list of politicians who are (maybe!) courting a run for president in 2016. 

By Abby Ohlheiser
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Rick Perry became the latest politician to announce an Iowa appearance on Tuesday, which means that the Texas governor is now on the list of politicians who are (maybe!) courting a run for president in 2016. Because as everybody knows, that's the only reason politicians with national name-recognition go to Iowa. Perry will be the guest speaker at the Polk County Republicans’ fall dinner in November.

Even though it's 2013, and not 2015 or 2016, when one would expect to see hopefuls from the presidency make their way to the state, Perry is just one of many GOP hopefuls already planning appearances in Iowa. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have already been there, along with Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Scott Brown, and Mike Huckabee. Over among the Democrats, both Joe Biden and Howard Dean announced Iowa plans over the summer.

Meanwhile, Peter King is hinting all over the place about a 2016 run, though he's focused his primary state visits on New Hampshire.

It would be Perry's first appearance in the state since the 2012 elections, when the governor's presidential campaign took a nosedive after he failed to name three things. Despite that disaster, Perry already made way for a possible 2016 run earlier this summer by announcing that he wouldn't seek re-election for governor of Texas. That announcement was timed in the midst of increased attention on the state, after state legislator Wendy Davis staged a filibuster of a controversial abortion bill, a measure Perry supported and signed. Perry has already said he's considering running. "That's an option out there," the governor said in response to a question from Fox News on a possible 2016 run. And last week, Perry told Newsmax that a 2016 run was a "very viable option" for him.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.