June 4, 2015

Rick Perry Is Running for President. Read These 8 Stories About Him Now.

Can the embattled former governor put his gaffe-riddled 2012 bid behind him and win the nomination?

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/5047775028/in/photolist-8G4aDW-an7mV2-6voQ7g-ox82bi-pn35mK-b18ShM-aMtecT-9qLejf-ez2gio-9jZdPE-6xC126-8Qi1rK-p4rbqB-b7Zdjx-btAfzh-aSSy6V-ce1zFY-bpCdYg-aRqpmD-q8eEc8-ppGRvp-8Qi3ve-a4agHd-beo68Z-benHex-8Qm7kA-8N3kSq-aiyHBV-cCkW7m-ax9xe1-njNJR5-cPig4S-68z5Qb-acXPcd-aoagJH-7XoM7t-dn2pz8-8Qi2YV-aRpEeP-aSYr7e-i3yjLF-akimcs-8Qi2kD-bZaBrh-pmNtPL-ehsYcs-cPErqY-q2LvvN-aprWTJ-8Qi28R">Ed Schipul</a>/Flickr

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Oops, he did it again: Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is officially launching his second campaign for president today. He’s expected to announce his bid flanked by combat veterans in the Dallas suburb of Addison. His entry to the race swells the growing GOP field to 10 official candidates.

Perry served for three terms as governor of the Lone Star State before stepping down earlier this year. He last ran for president in 2012, when he briefly was considered the GOP’s strongest conservative alternative to Mitt Romney until a few high-profile gaffes convinced many Republicans he wasn’t up to the job. Perry enters a far more crowded field this cycle, and faces stiff competition from fellow Texan Sen. Ted Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson,  former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum to win over the social conservatives who have supported him in the past.

Perry also carries with him substantial baggage from his 12 years as governor of Texas—most recently, he was indicted by a Texas grand jury on felony abuse of power charges. Check out the best of Mother Jones‘ coverage of Rick Perry:

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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