Name: James Richard Perry

Nickname: Rick

Age: 61

Hometown: Paint Creek, Texas

Current Position: longest continuously serving governor of Texas (since 2000)

Track Record: He has never lost an election, including an elementary school contest for “king” of the Paint Creek School Carnival. He secured that win by handing out pennies for votes.

Platform: tax reform, job growth, healthcare accessibility, public education, border security

Grade: A- for never losing and for being the most viable candidate in the Republican pool. He has all the tools necessary to win. Can he pull it all together? I don’t think 2012 is for him, but possibly 2016.

Fun Facts

• The Washington Post reports “nearly four out of 10 of the jobs created in this country since the recovery began have been in the Lone Star State. As of May, Texas was one of only three states (plus the District) that have rebounded to their pre-recession employment levels, according to statistics provided by the Federal Reserve Board of Dallas.”
• Perry is a friend of the Aga Khan, the religious leader of the Ismailis, a sect of Shia Islam that claims a reported 15 to 20 million adherents worldwide. Sprouting from that friendship are at least two cooperation agreements between the state of Texas and Ismaili institutions, including a far-reaching program to educate Texas schoolchildren about Islam.
• He is the most successful fund-raiser in the history of Texas politics
• He was a top Texas supporter and organizer in 1988 for Al Gore, who ran as a Southern conservative rather than the populist reformer he eventually became as the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee.

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