Perry Planning Multiple N.H. Visits Next Week

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

Rick Perry’s post-announcement visit on Saturday will not be the only Granite State visit next week for the Republican Texas governor.

CNN’s political reporter Rachel Streitfeld, embedded in New Hampshire, has the scoop:

CNN has learned that in addition to attending a house party in Greenland Saturday, Perry will return to the state to tour a local manufacturing company in Nashua on August 17.

Perry will also spend time behind closed doors with state Republicans as he attempts to build momentum and gain support here. The governor has invited local GOP officials to a meeting in Manchester on Sunday.

Mr. Perry will appear at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ Politics and Eggs on Wednesday morning.

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Pawlenty Gains 2008 Romney Backer

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

James Pindell has a 2008 supporter of Mitt Romney endorsing Tim Pawlenty this time around:

While former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is focused on Iowa this week, back in New Hampshire he just got a big endorsement.

Five-term State Rep. Ken Hawkins (R-Bedford) said that while he put up hundreds of Mitt Romney signs four years ago, he doesn’t think Romney can beat Obama. What he sees in Pawlenty, however, is a candidate who was able to win two terms as governor in a Democratic state and someone he believes can unseat the President.

“I want a winner,” said Hawkins. “Pawlenty has a lot of things going for him. We need a fresh face to win.”

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Pawlenty Donor Switches to Perry

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

With Rick Perry now in the presidential race—his spokesperson confirmed this afternoon—a Granite State fundraiser for Tim Pawlenty has chosen to back the Texas governor over the former Minnesota one.

“We were looking very carefully at Tim Pawlenty, and we loved him,” Gregory Slayton told Politico’s Kasie Hunt, “but Rick Perry comes with so much experience.”

Mr. Slayton respects Mr. Perry’s Texas record, his campaign advisor—Hancock resident Dave Carney—as well as his fundraising network and ability to win in crucial early-primary states.

“I just have tremendous respect for Tim Pawlenty and Mary Pawlenty and their team but for whatever reason it doesn’t look like Tim was going to take off,” he told Politico.

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Perry is In

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

Rick Perry is running for president, and his much anticipated announcement in South Carolina on Saturday will be his candidacy declaration, his spokesman confirmed to the Associated Press this afternoon.

Following the announcement, the Republican governor of Texas heads to New Hampshire for a Saturday evening house party.

Mr. Perry outlined in a WMUR-TV interview this afternoon how his vision sets him apart from the others in the Republian pack.

“I really think we’ve got a great story to tell because this country is begging for someone to lay out a vision of hope—real hope—and get America back working again,” he told WMUR’s Josh McElveen, “and that’s exactly what we’ve done in Texas. Some very simple but very effective principles of keeping our taxes low, and our regulatory climate fair and predictable, and a legal system that doesn’t allow for over-suing. . . .

“We’ve got a decade’s worth of experience,” he continued, “of working within a system in the state of texas but also seeing a centralized all powerful government particularly in the last two and a half years. They are trying to dictate to all of the states one size fits all whether its in health care, whether its how to edcate our children how its to clean up our air and I don’t think that’s proeper and I don’t think that’s right.”

Mr. Perry spoke with the New Hampshire House speaker, William O’Brien, Republican of Mont Vernon, yesterday at the annual National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in Texas. Mr. O’Brien told the Union Leader’s Drew Cline that Mr. Perry was impressive.

“If what I saw yesterday is an indication of his preparation to run, it seems very intense at this point,” Mr. O’Brien told Mr. Cline. “It seems very direct and very competent. I think they’re competent in their abilities, and I think they have mapped out a clear understanding of what it is going to take to win.”

Mr. Perry laid out his understanding of what it takes to win in the WMUR interview:

“I’m going to lay out a positive a bright future tied to the vision that I have for going to Washington, D.C., [and] making a difference,” he said on WMUR. “My hope is that in four years people will take a look at what we’ve done in Washington, D.C., and they know that I made Washington, D.C., less consequential in their lives.”

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5th LD-Writethru

Perry Previews Economic Pitch

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

Governor Rick Perry, Republican of Texas, yesterday previewed the message he brings to New Hampshire this weekend before legislators in his home state.

April Castro, Associated Press, datelined San Antonio:

"Some out there may say that we're seeing America in decline, but I don't believe that," Perry said, striking an optimistic tone befitting a full-fledged White House candidate. "I know our country's best days are still ahead of us. I believe in this country because I believe in Americans."

"Our fiscal house is built on shifting sands," Perry said. "Until Washington figures out that the only true stimulus is more money in the hands of employers across all economic sectors ... our national nightmare will continue."

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Perry’s Second Visit

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

He has yet to make his first, but Rick Perry has made plans for his second visit.

The Republican Texas governor will appear at Politics and Eggs on Wednesday, Aug. 17, according to Politico's Jonathan Martin.

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Giuliani Building N.H. Team, AP Reports

Rudy Giuliani. Archive photo by Gregory W. Wallace.

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, is assembling a team for a presidential run, according to the Associated Press’ Steve Peoples and Beth Fouhy.

Mr. Giuliani’s people have been in contact with Republican Representative Frank Guinta and former state G.O.P. chair Wayne Semprini, according to the report:

Representatives for the former New York mayor have contacted veteran New Hampshire campaign strategists in recent days about joining a Giuliani campaign, according to several people with direct knowledge of the effort . . .

They said Giuliani's team is concerned that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's all-but-certain campaign could scoop up the few remaining top operatives in the first-in-the-nation primary state, where a host of candidates already have dozens of people on the payroll. One person described Giuliani's aides as having a sense of urgency.

. . .

Those close to Giuliani say he hasn't yet decided whether to move forward with a campaign and that he would not make any political appearances in the days before or right after the impending 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

. . .

If he runs, Giuliani's advisers envision a smaller, scrappier operation than his 2008 effort in which he campaigned as a national front-runner but failed to pay adequate attention to early voting states. This time, they say he would focus primarily on New Hampshire in hopes that a victory here would help him raise money for contests beyond.

. . .

In his first race, Giuliani's moderate positions on abortion rights and gay marriage were sharply at odds with the conservative voters who traditionally dominate Republican primaries and helped doom his campaign then. His advisers argue that those issues are far less pressing this time and that Giuliani's record on bringing jobs to New York City would be welcomed by voters worried about the poor economy. But they acknowledge he still might have a hard time persuading many GOP primary voters that he is one of them.

James Pindell reports that this comes as a bit of a surprise to some in New Hampshire.

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Candidates Look to Beat Romney Tonight

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

Tonight’s G.O.P. debate was strategically scheduled to give candidates a stage before Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll. But with Mitt Romney leading his closest opponents by only a few poll points in both New Hampshire and national surveys, each candidate is seeking to become the most viable alternative to the default frontrunner.

For the two closest challengers, Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlety, the stakes are especially high, both at tonight’s debate and on Saturday.

This poll, like tonight’s debate, carries no actual weight in the nominating process. But as Ms. Bachmann found at the June New Hampshire presidential debate, a strong showing in one arena projects viability, and could lead to a strong showing down the road.

Tonight’s stage will be crowded with eight Republican candidates: Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor; Ms. Bachmann, the congresswoman of Minnesota; Mr. Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor; Representative Ron Paul of Texas, businessman Herman Cain; Jon M. Huntsman, the former Utah governor; Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator; and Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and Representative from Georgia.

Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter, Repulican of Michigan, was not invited to tonight’s debate—not for lack of trying—but will be at the Straw Poll on Saturday (scooping locally loved Blue Bunny ice cream).

Ms. Bachmann’s passionate performance in New Hampshire projected her to the top tier of candidates. After announced her presidential bid in the first minutes of the debate, her national poll numbers jumped. She now trails Mr. Romney nationally and leads him in Iowa Polls, where she has been campaigning non-stop, excepting some House of Representative votes, for weeks.

With her increased visibility has come increased scrutiny, including a week-long story about her migraine headaches. Ms. Bachmann has since become more focused on driving her message, including interrupting a Concord Monitor reporter last week as she was asked about her gay marriage position.

“I’m not involved in light, frivolous matters,” she said, per the Monitor. “I’m not involved in fringe or side issues. I’m involved in serious issues.”

Her challenger for overtaking Mr. Romney is fellow Minnesotan Mr. Pawlenty, who has literally shared the stage with Ms. Bachmann in Iowa recently. At June’s debate, he balked balked at an opportunity to criticize the front-runner, but in recent weeks in Iowa, he and his campaign have taken on Ms. Bachmann.
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“I respect Congresswoman Bachmann, but her comments, I think, were consistent with her pattern of being inaccurate and off the mark, and number two, there’s a big difference between talking and getting stuff done,” he said in Davenport, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I get stuff done.”

That comment drew a response from Ms. Bachmann, who had been attempting to avoid Mr. Pawlenty’s swipes, accusing “Mr. Pawlenty of ‘leaving a multi-billion dollar budget mess,’ backing a cap on carbon emissions for Midwestern states and supporting a Wall Street rescue from 2008 that conservatives revile,” according to the Journal.

Mr. Paul bought the most prominent straw poll location and has spent time in Iowa, most recently bringing his son, Tea Party favorite and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, on the trail in Iowa. He and others—Messrs. Cain, Santorum, and Gingrich—are struggling for attention and support.

If the debate is an uphill battle for the likes of Mr. Santorum, it will be especially so for Mr. Huntsman, who cited his opposition to corn subsidies in announcing—before even announcing his candidacy—that if he did run, Iowa would not be a part of the campaign strategy. He skipped the June debate and announced the very next day his campaign’s upcoming unveiling.

Tonight’s absentee narrative is attached to Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who will not be on stage but is expected to announce his candidacy on Saturday—concurrent to the Iowa Straw Poll—in South Carolina. He then will attend a house party in New Hampshire on Saturday night.

The debate will be broadcast at 9 pm Eastern on Fox News.

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Romney, Huntsman Deploy Familial Surrogates

By Gregory W. Wallace (gww@primaryinsider.com)

One of Jon M. Huntsman Jr.’s oft-used campaign trail jokes is that with seven children, he has strength in numbers.

Several candidates have large families to leverage: Mitt Romney has five sons. Michele Bachmann talks about her 23 children (including foster children). Rick Santorum, like Mr. Huntsman, has seven, and in a Iowa campaign commercial, he explained that it takes two minivans to move his family. Then there is Ron Paul, who at the New Hampshire debate in June joked that as an obstetrician, he has delivered over four thousand babies.

Those strength in numbers come in handy when the candidate wants a Granite State presence, but has business elsewhere.

While the candidates line up for tonight’s Iowa debate—just two days before the Straw Poll—Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Mr. Huntsman, the former Utah governor, are each sending surrogates from their inner circle.

Ann Romney, who regularly campaigns for her husband, will represent him today in New Hampshire, meeting with local Republicans at Kenne in Michele’s Ristorante at noon, then at Beantowne Café in Hampstead at 4 o’clock. (The last candidate to appear at Beantowne was Herman Cain.)
http://blog.primaryinsider.com/2011/05/cain-speaks-from-crate-in-hampstead.html

Tonight is the first presidential debate for Mr. Huntsman, and he is deploying three of his daughters—Mary Anne, Abby, and Liddy—to their first solo campaign events. They will participate in campaign field work during the day, then host a debate watch party tonight at Concord’s The Draft.

Though both Messrs. Romney and Huntsman are attending tonight’s Iowa debate, neither has made a significant push in the Hawkeye State. Mr. Huntsman made waves when he announced that—expecting low support due to an opposition to federal corn subsidies—he would not campaign in Iowa. Wednesday was Mr. Romney’s second trip to Iowa of this campaign.

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