Assessment Complete -- Perry to Stay in Race

By Nicholas Confessore and Katharine Q. Seelye January 4, 2012 1:09 pm January 4, 2012 1:09 pm

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who said after the Iowa caucuses that he would return to Texas to “assess” whether there was a path for him to the Republican nomination, decided on Wednesday that there is a way forward.

A person close to the Perry campaign said that the governor and his inner circle made the decision to move forward around the same time that Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota decided to pull out of the race.

Mr. Perry’s decision to continue and attend the next Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire on Saturday surprised some advisers. The governor’s wife, Anita, was in favor of pushing forward in the campaign, according to two Republicans who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The campaign has been divided with disagreements on strategy, the Republicans said, and Mr. Perry’s decision provided the latest example of competing arguments among his advisers. Donors and other supporters also reached out to Mr. Perry and urged him to stay on at least through the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, given the volatility and unpredictable nature of the race.

While his campaign spent heavily in Iowa, Mr. Perry still has enough money to compete in South Carolina, where television advertisements are less expensive than in New Hampshire and Florida. His “super PAC” will likely also provide additional firepower. But Mr. Perry would need to reboot his fund-raising to compete in Florida at the end of the month. His fifth-place finish in Iowa, while not auspicious, showed a hunger among Republicans for a more conservative alternative to Mitt Romney.

“Think how early we are in the process,” said a person with knowledge of the campaign, who demanded anonymity before discussing the deliberations of Mr. Perry’s aides. “The reality is, not one delegate was committed yesterday. We are still early enough in the process that if the candidate has the drive to go forward, he ought to.”

“If we can get this back to a Perry versus Romney field,” the person added, “Perry can win.”

Supporters said he planned to skip the New Hampshire primary but still intended to participate in the two debates there this weekend.

For now, aides said, Mr. Perry plans to campaign next week in South Carolina.

Mr. Perry, the only sitting governor in the race, had significant support early on from conservatives and evangelicals but his poor debate performances hurt his standing. His campaign in South Carolina, despite a sluggish showing in Iowa, indicates just how wide open the nomination race remains.

Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.