Texas Gov. Rick Perry officially announced his candidacy for president on Saturday, drawing attention away from the straw poll in Ames, Iowa, set to take place just hours later.

Perry’s announcement comes late in the game, giving him just six months to raise money and support before the first caucuses and primaries. But one of his biggest hurdles may be overcoming the hesitancy of some Republicans to elect another Texas governor. Perry doesn’t think it will be a problem. “I full well believe I’m going to win,” he said earlier in a conference call with South Carolina Republicans. –BF

USA Today:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry entered the Republican presidential race today by telling a crowd of conservatives that “it’s time to get America working again.”

“One in six work-eligible Americans cannot find a full-time job,” Perry said. “That is not a recovery, that is an economic disaster.”

Billing himself as a “champion of conservative principles,” the Texas native blasted President Obama by referring to last week’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

“The fact is, for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs, he’s been downgrading our standing in the world, he’s been downgrading our financial stability, he’s been downgrading our confidence and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children,” Perry said. “That’s a fact.”

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