News reports indicate that Texas Gov. Rick Perry will use a speech Saturday in South Carolina to announce that he’s entering the race to become the GOP presidential nominee. Perry also plans to attend a Saturday evening campaign-style event in New Hampshire.
Rice University's Mark Jones
Mark Jones, Rice University’s chair of political science and an expert on Texas politics who has closely followed Perry’s career, is available for interviews on Perry entering the race.
Commenting in today’s Austin American-Statesman, Jones said, “Instead of all the political news being focused on whoever wins in Iowa, (Perry) will dominate the Sunday papers and the Sunday talk shows.”
Jones recently wrote an opinion piece about Perry for the Texas Tribune titled “Perry as a (Very Conservative) Democrat.” The article puts into context Perry’s political affiliation and career in Texas.
In June, Jones penned a story titled “Rick Perry and the Republican Presidential Nomination” for the Baker Institute’s blog on the Houston Chronicle’s website. In it Jones writes about Perry’s fiscal and social policies in Texas and how they might play in a national run against other candidates for the GOP nomination.
Following Perry’s victory in last year’s Texas gubernatorial election, Jones analyzed the governor’s successful primary and general election campaigns for the Austin American-Statesman. The article, “How Perry Dominated his Re-election Races,” highlights aspects of Perry’s campaign tactics, which the governor’s team would likely replicate in the event of a presidential bid.
Jones is available nationwide for media interviews throughout Perry’s run for the GOP presidential nomination. Rice News and Media Relations has set up a webpage that will be updated with current news releases from Jones, along with ongoing commentary, media appearances and news articles. The page is available at www.nationalmedia.blogs.rice.edu.
This CNN interview about the Arizona immigration bill is an example of Jones conducting a live talk-back.
Jones is also the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy’s Fellow in Political Science as well as the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies at Rice University. For more information on Jones, go here.
For more information or to schedule an interview with Jones, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations at Rice University, at druth@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.