Surprise! Gov. Perry Is Indeed Running for President [Politics]

In what could be referred to as the worst kept secret in Texas, a spokesman for Governor Perry just announced that he will be running for President of the United States in 2012, according to the AP. Perry himself confirmed it to KVUE by signing this print-out of his announcement as it appeared over the AP news wire.

Buzz around Perry's potential run has been pulsing for months (just see today's earlier post). This past Saturday, August 7, Perry organized "The Response," a Christian-oriented day of prayer and fasting held at Houston's Reliant Stadium. He followed up the event with an announcement on Tuesday that he will be visiting South Carolina. According to the New York Times, it is there that Perry is expected to formally enter the race on Saturday. After South Carolina, the former Aggie will make stops in the swing states of New Hampshire and Iowa. Now that he will formally enter the race, he is likely to show up in Iowa's Ames Straw Poll, an informal gauge that measures the momentum of GOP Presidential candidates -- but only as a write-in candidate because of his late announcement.

Backlash to the Governor's candidacy began even before he formally entered the Presidential race. Most recently, Stephen Colbert announced he would be supporting Rick "Parry" and urged Iowans taking part in this weekend's straw poll to write in the name.