New York (CNN) –Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has said he is considering running for the Republican presidential nomination, is in the middle of a cross country swing talking to key constituencies including those in the Big Apple.
On Tuesday night he addresses about 200 at a sold-out New York County Republican dinner. At the dinner Perry is replacing Donald Trump, who pulled out after he decided not to run for president.
This last weekend he spoke to a Hispanic anti-abortion rights group in California and later this week he speaks with other contenders at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.
New York County Republican chairman Dan Isaacs told CNN Perry's appearance at the Tuesday dinner has drawn more attention than when Trump was going to be the keynote speaker.
"Among active Republican there is a lot interest to meet the governor."
While in New York, Perry met Tuesday afternoon with about 30 leading GOP donors– businessmen, Wall Street types and attorneys as well as other key party leaders over lunch. Issacs said he suggested the get together, and Perry agreed.
Perry wasn't talking much as he left the lunch and rushed to his waiting motorcade but when asked by CNN about a run for president he said, "I may run... in Central Park later."
Kidding with the media aside, when pressed last month about running for President, Perry said "I'm going to think about it."
Perry has a strong base among the party's social conservative activists and has a strong job creation record that he would tout if he did get into the race although critics point out the state has problems with poverty. A recent poll of Texans showed only 4 percent of them wanted Perry to run.
A CNN Opinion Research poll last month showed 50 percent of Americans did not want Perry to run for President while 40 percent said they did.
One thing that has increased attention on Perry is the fact that two of Newt Gingrich's key campaign operatives who were part of the mass resignations last week are close to Perry. Sources with knowledge of the situation have said the exodus from Gingrich's campaign was not related to the governor's deliberations.
CNN New York Producer Julian Cummings contributed to this report.
–You can follow Kevin Bohn on Twitter @KevinBohnCNN.
From CNN Politics
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Oh Hot Diggity Dog. Another Texas Governor.
Let's get Barbara Bush's opinion on this one. Or is he their step-son?
No thanks. W left a bad taste in my mouth that will NEVER go away.
Governer Perry has ridden Texas into deep deficit, and now he wants to run from it. At least show some responsibility and let yourself get voted out of office, instead of just cutting and running.
America, what a brilliant idea! Let's elect another republican governor from texas!
After threatening to succeed from the US, he now wants the Presidency? This guy wanted all girls to be vaccinated for HPV regardless of age or the fact that some girls have died from the vaccine. The only reason Texas is doing well throughout the recession is oil, house prices weren't inflated and no state income tax. But this guy should not run our country.
Just curious, is Rick Perry even sane? I mean, I get that he's a rethuglican, but is he sane enough to hold office? Just askin'.
Great, leave Texas a mess and try to destroy our great nation. Didn't he call for succession?
Aren't there problems in Texas for Perry to be working on? He doesn't seem to add anything to the presidential debate.
OMG could you do us all a favor and KEEP HIM THERE? Rick Perry needs to be as far away from the White House as possible. Besides he's always talking so anti- Washington then why in the heck would he want to be POTUS, unless he plans to move the nation capital to Austin.
"critics point out the state has problems with poverty"
Yeah, only Democrat and liberal critics though. Republicans and conservatives don't consider poverty a problem...as long as it's not themselves. If it's not, then the more the merrier: poverty-stricken downtrodden people will take whatever you give them for their labor.
I'm a Texan and Perry is crooked as hell. He allocates the state's technology development fund to his supporters, tries to build toll roads to benefit his donors, appoints his friends to paid government positions, it goes on and on. He a hypocrite on religion: always talks about religion and prayer, yet gave a total of $90 one year to his church. Lives in a house that costs the taxpayers $10,000 a month rent. He's crazy: wants Texas to secede from the United States, yet then whines that he doesn't get federal disaster aid.
He even LOOKS like Bush.
Don't want him as Texas Governor, sure don't want him as PRESIDENT!!
A LIAR & HYPOCRITE!!
Isn't this the Governor who wanted his state to leave the Union and form a new Country? Now he wants to be President of the Country that was not good enough for him a few years ago.
He messed with Texas. Now, I guess he wants to mess with the rest of the country.
Dumb as a box of rocks. Trust me, you don't want him. He looks good, but that's the end of it.
What's he going to do when he looses, secede from the union and form his own Presidency? The Republican's are getting more and more entertaining.
This guy is pefrect GOTea. All hat and no cattle. He hates minorities, gays, the poor and middle class, has nothing but disdain for education. He loves money and fetuses. That and he is dumber than GWB. Perfect Republican candidate.
Perry is a very good-looking man, although his face has more lines than a map of the backwoods of Texas.
That's all I have to say about his crazy-ass.
Among active Republicans there is a lot of interest to meet the governor."
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That must be the 200 that attended the dinner.
Of all the nutters already running or considering a run for the GOP nomination, this guy is top 3 nutty, along with Palin and Bachmann.
GWB put Perry in office so in him you'll get GWB, Cheney et al, Karl Rove, Jeb Bush and don't forget the Koch Brothers and we all might "SUCEDE" from the U.S. while our troops are in the Middle East. Furthermore, when Perry and his family attend Church they contributed $90 for a whole year and live tax free off taxpayers money, whoopi.
has a strong job creation record that he would tout if he did get into the race although critics point out the state has problems with poverty. A recent poll of Texans showed only 4 percent of them wanted Perry to run.
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Sounds like two mutually exclusive concepts cohabitating under the same roof.
How can you have a "strong job creation record" yet have problems with poverty. And why would only FOUR PERCENT of ALL TEXANS want him to run for President?
The stats say one thing about him BUT his PEOPLE say another.
Last I checked stats don't vote, people do.
Hmmm.
It would be a terrible situation if Perry is elected President. So sorry to see some people actually believing in him and that he could do a good job. SAD.....Perry is self-centered and only desires to do what is needed to put $$ in his own pocket. He hasn't done what is for the good of the State of Texas, nor will he do anything for improving this Country's problems. I would not vote him if he were the ONLY MAN RUNNING!!
being from texas will hurt him ,,,,bush is still being blamed for everthing years later....
This guy is dangerous...He wants all Americans ON THEIR KNEES praying to his version of gawd as a way to solve our nations problems – CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? AMEICANS ON THEIR KNEES!?! Only a wached out evangelical fundy from TX trying to "out christian" all the other bible pounders in the GOP would even think of making that kind of a statement. But he has let the catr out of the bag...Like all good 'cons he wants Americans on their knees bowing to his party's dogma and demagogury of everything for th rich and nothing but minimum substance for everybody else...