Free Republic

In a campaign speech late Tuesday night, Governor Rick Perry stated that he is "returning to Texas" to reassess whether he is going to continue running for President. The speech contained several emotional moments, in particular two moments. The first was when he read a letter from an adoring supporter who called him a "great man." The letter described a conversation that Mr. Perry had had with a soldier and how his supporter looked on in awe as he watched Governor Perry call the veteran his "Christian brother." The second was when Perry announced that he would be returning to...

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Walk into this West Des Moines hotel, and you’ll easily encounter volunteers in Rick Perry fleeces or staffers wearing official Rick Perry badges. The Perry campaign has set up shop here just days before the Iowa caucuses while nearly two thousand volunteers fan out across the state to promote the Texas governor with an expansive ground game as the campaign hopes he’ll earn a top three spot in the caucuses Tuesday. A source close to the Perry campaign confirmed to ABC News they have signed up 1500 precinct leaders across Iowa. At each of the...

RelatedCRESTON, Iowa — Rick Perry began his final push in the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday by sharpening his claim to be the sort of leader the country badly needs, and which his rivals decidedly are not. “You need to ask yourself: If we replace the Democrat insider with a Republican insider, is that going to change Washington, D.C.? No, it’s not,” he told 150 or so Iowans crammed into a coffee shop a week ahead of caucuses likely to winnow the presidential field. “I will go to Washington to be an anti-establishment outsider.” At one stop after another, he jabbed...

GRAND RAPIDS – GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has pulled slightly ahead of favorite son Mitt Romney among voters likely to participate in Michigan's Feb. 28 presidential primary election, according to a poll released today. Gingrich was the choice of 30.75 percent of likely voters, passing Romney, the choice of 28.74 percent, according to the survey of Michigan voters likely to participate in the open primary, said John Yob, CEO of Strategic National, a Grand Rapids political consulting firm. BY THE NUMBERS Republican Newt Gingrich has a slight lead over Mitt Romney among Michigan voters likely to participate in the...