Giving it another go! Rick Perry announced on Thursday, June 4, that he is seeking the Republican nomination for President in the 2016 election, four years after he failed to nab the bid in 2012.
The longtime Governor of Texas, 65, is pitting himself against his fellow GOP competitors Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Lindsey Graham, who announced his own candidacy on Monday, June 2.
Perry fell short of winning the Republican nomination for the 2012 race, losing out to Mitt Romney, who famously represented the party in the election and was swiftly beat by incumbent President Obama. The Texan politician was not deterred by his first unsuccessful campaign, however, and will spend the upcoming months trying once more to vie for the Oval Office.
The father of two announced his campaign with the launch of a "Perry for President" website on Thursday morning. He introduced his political priorities, highlighted his experience as Governor, and released his first ad.
The promotional clip opens with shots of clouds and video taken outside of the White House. Against images of sprawling cities, suburban enclaves, and rural farmland, Perry is heard saying, "If we're gonna revive this American dream again, we need a President who provides leadership that transcends the petty partisanship that we've seen in the last few years, someone that's been tested. We need a President who tells the American people the truth."
"We have the power to make our country new again," Perry continues in the ad. "We don't have to accept the weakness abroad that we're seeing today. We don't have to accept the slow recovery economically that we see here at home. You see, a lot of candidates will say the right things, whether it's about the border, whether it's about taxes, whether it's about spending, but we need a President who has done the right thing."
Perry is just the latest political hopeful to add his name to an ever-growing list of Republican candidates. With the election still 17 months away, the politicians have at least three debates and fierce campaigning ahead before one comes out on top.
The GOP candidate who does finally win the nomination will face competition from the Democrats. The DNC list is significantly shorter, with just four names as of June 4: Hillary Clinton, Lincoln Chafee, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley.
