In a press conference in San Antonio, TX, today, Gov. Rick Perry announced he would not be running for governor next election cycle. Perry, who launched a failed bid for the White House in 2012 ruled out a 2016 presidential run.
Perry won the Texas governorship over a decade ago, when then-Governor Bush departed to run for, and win, the 2001 Presidential election. He has since served three terms, the longest tenure of any governor of the state.
The debate now turns to how Perry will continue to serve the state for his last 18 more months and who Texas will turn to next term. One theory has Attorney General Greg Abbott taking the position, and according to The Texas Tribune, he has been planning to do so for some time already.
Abbott is collecting résumés and assembling a gubernatorial campaign team. He???s shaking hands, giving speeches and edging his way onto the covers of small-town newspapers across the state. He also just opened a new campaign headquarters ??? an entire floor of the Texas Association of Broadcasters building in downtown Austin, according to a Republican consultant familiar with Abbott's campaign.
On Sunday, Perry spoke on "Fox News Sunday," about his political future and reacted to Public Policy Polling's results that indicate over 60 percent of Texans didn't believe he should run for a fourth term. See the full video below.
