Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry Friday said he’s going to announce within the next 30 days whether he’ll make a second run for the presidency. He told a standing room only of about 150 people at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Taylors, South Carolina, that he’d run as an experienced executive eager to return power to states.
At one point, he was asked about his views on same sex marriage and religious liberty. Perry answered by noting the next president could make three or four Supreme Court appointments.
“This isn’t about who’s going to be president of the United States for the next four years,” he said. “This could be about individuals that have an impact on you, your children and even your grandchildren. That’s the weight of what this election’s really about.”
Same sex marriage is highly unpopular among South Carolina Republicans. They’ll hear Saturday from 11 possible and declared presidential candidates. Perry ran for the White House in 2008 but eventually left the race.
He drew an appreciative audience Friday evening, though many said it was too early to pick a candidate.
“He really fought for his state, and he really helped secure the border with Mexico,” said Allen Cuthrell, an electrical engineer from Anderson. But he also put Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former business executive Carly Fiorina on his list of possible Republican candidates.
Bob Roe, his son and grandson made sure they got a picture with Perry. “He seems to be straightforward,” said Bob Roe, a Boiling Springs real estate investor.