If Rick Perry is to resurrect his longshot presidential hopes in 2016, Iowa will be an essential part of the playbook.
And he’s not exactly being shy about the Hawkeye State’s importance to him.
The Texas governor returned to the state Thursday, where over the span of two days, he’ll gab with local reporters, conduct a conference call for the Republican Governors Association, meet with Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa business leaders as well as members of the National Rifle Association and address over 400 activists at the Polk County Republican dinner.
Thursday night, he delivered his pre-packaged speech of touting red state economic policies over those in blue states and pointing to Texas as a shimmering model for the nation.
But the larger message relevant to his future aspirations were also on full display: Perry will be back in Iowa often, and any candidacy will be launched early.
“If you’re going to run you need to get in a couple years early,” he told the Des Moines Register’s Jennifer Jacobs in video interview posted on the web.
Perry finished a disappointing fifth in the 2012 caucuses.
A 2016 run could easily pit him against homestate Sen. Ted Cruz, who has already made three visits to Iowa this year.
Perry has made no secret that he disagrees with Cruz’s legislative tactics that led to a government shutdown, telling The Dallas Morning News, “Everybody gets to go out and do their thing. That’s his thing. My thing is governing.”
(Jacobs interview is worth your click, especially the lighter latter half in which Perry reveals he drives a 2000 5-series BMW, enjoys Shiner Bock beer and has a phobia of snakes. ”I hate snakes,” he said. ”It’s the reason to run with a pistol.”)
During a conference call on the Florida governor’s race Thursday, Perry was careful not to pump up New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s re-election victory, offering only glancing praise and redirecting the focus to 2014.
“Congrats to him for maintaining Jersey in the red governor column,” Perry replied. ”But our focus is on 2014.”
Perry will appear Sunday on ABC’s This Week program, following Christie.
It’s possible they’ll be soon crossing paths in Iowa.
Perry will be back next month, but is already seeking to capture some moments for the future.
An Iowa-based source tells The RUN Perry sought to film video during his Friday visit to Brownells — the world’s largest gun manufacturer. It was material deemed for a “nonspecific future use.”
Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com
