Rick Perry

Rick Perry

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. Perry, a Republican, 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 elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and is the fourth Texas governor since Allan Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally to serve three terms. With a tenure in office to date of 700111000000000000011 years, 7002342000000000000342 days, Perry is the second longest serving current U.S. governor—after Terry Branstad of Iowa. Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 (succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia) and again in 2011. Perry is the longest serving governor in Texas state history. As a result, he is the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every eligible state office, board, or commission position (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as six of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court).

Perry won the Texas 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election, defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina. In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election, Perry won a third term by defeating former Houston mayor Bill White and Kathie Glass.

On August 13, 2011, Perry announced in South Carolina that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. On January 19, 2012, Perry announced he would be suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination, and initially endorsed Newt Gingrich but gave his support to Mitt Romney after the former suspended his campaign.

On October 15, 2012, one of Perry's aides indicated that Perry would stand for re-election to his fourth term as governor in 2014.

Read more about Rick Perry:  Early Life, Education, and Military Service, Governor of Texas, 2012 Presidential Campaign, Political Views, Publications, Personal Life, Electoral History

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