Texas Gov. Rick Perry plunged into a New Hampshire fair on the second day of his presidential announcement tour in the brash and bold style that has been his trademark. With his entourage of Texas Rangers at his elbow, he strutted through the crowd, brown cowboy boots on his feet and Lone Star cuff links on his sleeves, giving sharp salutes and thumbs up to some voters and grabbing the shoulders of others in a warm and lusty hello.
He was swarmed, to be sure. But even at an event organized by conservative groups, some kept their distance as Perry worked his way through the lunch line and sat down at a picnic table, where he closed his eyes and offered a blessing before biting into his hamburger.
Of all the early primary states, secular New Hampshire may offer the best test of whether the broader presidential electorate is ready for another socially conservative, Southern governor who has talked openly about his faith and how it has guided his political life.
Unlike Iowa and South Carolina, where social conservatives dominate the Republican contests, GOP voters here tend to be more socially moderate. New Hampshire ranked as one of the least religious states in the country in a 2009 Gallup survey — 46% of poll respondents said religion was an important part of their daily lives, compared with 80% in South Carolina, where Perry announced his bid Saturday.
And it won't be just those Republicans whom Perry must win over before the state's first-in-the-nation primary early next year; independents, who tend to be more moderate, can participate in the GOP primary and have often provided the edge that leads to a win.
With some voters openly suspicious of faith-centered politicians, a number of Republican strategists say Perry's chances in New Hampshire — and nationally, were he to win the nomination — rest on whether he can keep a singular focus on economic issues without making voters leery about the role that religion plays in his thinking. As important, they said, is whether Perry can survive the comparisons to the last religious Texas governor to seek the presidency, George W. Bush, who had difficulty connecting to New Hampshire voters and was unpopular nationally when he left office two and a half years ago.
Perry "began walking back" his explanation of the decision, after years of insisting he "did the right thing" in 2007 when he signed an executive order mandating the HPV vaccine. He got flak from conservative groups such as the Eagle Forum and even state GOP lawmakers were upset that the Texas Legislature wasn't consulted.
On Saturday, shortly after announcing his presidential campaign, Perry reportedly began softening what had been an unapologetic stance on the issue.
"I signed an executive order that allowed for an opt out, but the fact of the matter is that I didn't do my research well enough to understand that we needed to have a substantial conversation with our citizenry," Perry said, according to ABC News.
Texas Monthly, meanwhile, takes a look at Perry's strength as a campaigner and how the Democrat-turned-Republican has won 10 straight elections, sometimes against formidable opponents such as liberal Jim Hightower (then the state's agriculture commissioner) and GOP U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
As the magazine explains, the man derided as "Governor Good Hair" has turned out to be one of Texas' most successful politicians. Just ask Democrat John Sharp, a friend of Perry's since their days at Texas A&M, who lost to Perry in the 1998 lieutenant governor's race.
"Running against Perry is like running against God. Everything breaks his way! Either he's the luckiest guy in the world or the Lord is taking care of him.
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