Texas Governor, 2012 Presidential Election | featured news

Rick Perry's flirtation with a presidential run may be nearing an end. The Texas governor told the Des Moines Register -- the largest newspaper in the leadoff nominating state -- that he's two to three weeks away from making a decision.

Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican contemplating a presidential run, shares many attributes with the last man who ran for president from here, his predecessor and onetime patron, George W. Bush. He has the same straight-legged Texas swagger; the down-home, clipped speaking style; the desert-baked conservatism.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will swing through California this week for private meetings with Republican leaders, potential fundraisers and legislators that will stoke speculation that he plans to enter the 2012 Republican presidential contest....

A candidate in waiting, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is elbowing the Republicans already in the 2012 presidential race as he courts party activists, operatives and donors still shopping for someone to back against President Barack Obama.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the longest serving chief executive in the state's history and a politician who has never lost an election, said Friday he will consider seeking the Republican nomination for president.