Long-standing Texas Governor James Richard 'Rick' Perry has suffered a setback in his bid to win the Republican presidential candidacy, with a loss at the Iowa caucuses.
Perry has held the position of Texas governor since 2000, when he took over from George W. Bush.
Prior to that he served as Bush's deputy, and earlier held the position of Texas agricultural commissioner for eight years.
Perry's main Republican nomination platform is to 'get America working again' by 'taking a wrecking ball to Washington'.
He has vowed to rein in government spending and believes in limiting government regulation of the finance and housing sectors.
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He has also called for Congress to go 'part-time'. His website says he plans to freeze federal hiring under his 'cut, balance and grow' plan, and slash Congressmens' salaries, but he doesn't say by how much.
His campaign took a blow when he vowed, during a TV debate, that he would get rid of, three government agencies including commerce and education - but he could not remember the third one.
Perry is an air force veteran, and aims to channel resources to the country's military.
Being from Texas, which borders Mexico, his main focus is on preventing illegal immigrants from crossing into the US. As president, Perry says he would:
"Substantially increase manpower, technology and fencing along the border ... [and] make greater use of unmanned aerial assets to gather reliable, real-time intelligence."
Perry, 61, is an evangelical Christian, and has two children.
He opposes abortion and has passed legislation in his state to prevent it, implementing:
- a parental consent law for minors
- an act which recognizes the personhood of an unborn child
- a ban on late-term abortions
- a law obligating pregnant women to have a sonogram prior to an abortion
- defunding of planned parenthood
He also utterly opposes gay marriage.
Perry has a concealed handgun license, and is a opposes any changes to gun laws or to the Second Amendment.
Watch Rick Perry's campaign video from the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses:
