Rick Perry

American politician, Governor of Texas, and candidate for the 2012 Republican Party nomination in the US Presidential election to be held November 6, 2012. He declared his intention to join the field of party nominees on August 13, 2011 in Charleston, South Carolina, but discontinued it on January 19, 2012.

Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998. When George W. Bush left the office of Governor, Perry stepped into that role. He was re-elected to the Governor's office in 2002, 2006 and again in 2010.

Perry grew up on a ranch in Paint Creek, TX. After graduation from A&M University, he joined the Air Force, earning his pilot's license and flying military aircraft. He left in 1977 with the rank of Captain and went to work with his father on the farm. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1984 and has been in politics since then. The overtly religious man who often calls for prayer in the face of challenges.

He married Anita Thigpen in 1982; they have two children.