Rick Perry (Texas)

Rick Perry

Republican Party

Prior offices

Governor of Texas

Successor: Greg Abbott

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U.S. Secretary of Energy

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Education

Bachelor's

Texas A&M University, 1972

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1972 - 1977

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James Richard Perry is the former secretary of energy. He was the 14th person to serve in the position. Perry was chosen by President Donald Trump for secretary of energy on December 13, 2016. The Senate confirmed Perry on March 2, 2017, by a vote of 62-37, and he was sworn into office on the same day.

On October 17, 2019, Fox News reported that Perry planned to submit his resignation to President Trump by the end of the year. He resigned on December 1, 2019.

Perry is the former governor of Texas. He assumed office in December 2000 when President George W. Bush, then the president-elect, resigned as governor of Texas to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States. Perry was elected to full terms in 2002, 2006, and 2010. Perry retired from the governorship in 2014.

The secretary of energy is responsible for overseeing an "agency tasked with maintaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent and reducing the threat of nuclear proliferation, overseeing the United States’ energy supply, carrying out the environmental clean-up from the Cold War nuclear mission, and the 17 National Laboratories," according to the department's website.

Perry ran for president twice, in 2012 and 2016. He suspended his 2012 campaign on January 19, 2012, and endorsed candidate Newt Gingrich in the Republican primary. He announced his 2016 campaign on June 4, 2015, and suspended his campaign on September 11 of that same year. He said, "We have a tremendous field -- the best in a generation -- so I step aside knowing our party is in good hands." He later endorsed Ted Cruz in the Republican primary.

Biography

Perry is a fifth-generation Texan. He grew up in Paint Creek, Texas, on his family's ranch. He was active in Boy Scouts, eventually earning the Boy Scouts of America's Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. While a student at Texas A&M University, he joined the Corps of Cadets and was elected as a yell leader. During college, Perry also worked selling books door to door.

After graduating, Perry accepted a commission in the United States Air Force. He completed pilot training and flew tactical airlifts in Europe and the Middle East through most of the 1970s. He retired in 1977 as a captain and returned to Texas to work on his family's cotton farm.

Perry entered politics in 1984, winning election to the Texas House of Representatives for District 64. At the time, Perry was a Democrat.

In 1989, Perry switched his affiliation to the Republican party. The following year, he won election as agriculture commissioner of Texas. He was re-elected to a second term in 1994. In 1998, he ran successfully for lieutenant governor of Texas, becoming the first Republican to hold the office. Perry succeeded to the governorship in 2000 when predecessor President George W. Bush resigned to begin his first term as President of the United States.

Political career

Secretary of Energy

Nomination tracker
Candidate: Rick Perry
Position: Secretary of Energy
Confirmation progress
a	Announced:	December 13, 2016
a	Hearing:	January 19, 2017
a	Committee:	Energy and Natural Resources Committee
a	Reported:	January 31, 2017 17-6
a	Confirmed:	March 2, 2017
a	Vote:	62-37

On December 13, 2016, Perry was selected by President Donald Trump to serve as secretary of energy. The United States Senate confirmed Perry on March 2, 2017, by a vote of 62 to 37.

Governor of Texas (2000-2015)

See also: Governor of Texas

Perry was the longest-serving governor in Texas history, holding the office for over 14 consecutive years. He was first sworn in as governor on December 21, 2000, replacing Governor George W. Bush, who had recently been elected President of the United States. Perry was elected to a full term as governor in 2002 over Democrat Antonio R. "Tony" Sanchez, Jr., a Laredo businessman.

As governor, he was a member of the National Governors Association, the Western Governors' Association, the Southern Governors' Association, and the Republican Governors Association.

An analysis of Republican governors by Nate Silver of the New York Times in April 2013 ranked Perry as the 10th most conservative governor in the country.

Perry became the longest-serving governor in Texas history midway through his time in office. He eventually served over 14 consecutive years in the position. The record was previously held by Governor Bill Clements, who served eight years over two non-consecutive terms, and Allan Shiver, who had seven and one-half years of consecutive service.

Lieutenant Governor (1999-2000)

In 1998, Perry ran for lieutenant governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. Perry won 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria. Libertarian Anthony Garcia won another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).

Texas Agriculture Commissioner (1991-1999)

In the 1990 race for commissioner of agriculture, Perry unseated Democrat Jim Hightower.

As agriculture commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations and supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.

Perry was re-elected agriculture commissioner in 1994. He earned 2,546,287 votes (61.92 percent), defeating Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 votes (35.98 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received 85,836 votes (2.08 percent).

Texas State Legislature (1984-1990)

In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from a district that included his home county of Haskell. He served on the Texas House Appropriations and Calendars Committees during his three terms as a state legislator, where he was known as one of the "Pit Bulls," a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the 1980s. In 1989, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the most effective legislators in the 71st legislature. In 1989, Perry announced that he was joining the Republican Party.

Issues

Trump administration's energy agenda

• On January 24, 2018, discussed the Trump administration’s “Energy Dominance” agenda, which is aimed at increasing the domestic production of fossil fuels. He said, “The United States is not just exporting energy, we’re exporting freedom. We’re exporting to our allies in Europe the opportunity to truly have a choice of where do you buy your energy from. That’s freedom. And that kind of freedom is priceless.”

Presidential preference

Perry had previously endorsed Ted Cruz, who ended his presidential campaign on May 3, 2016.

2016 presidential endorsement

✓ Perry endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

See also: Endorsements for Donald Trump

2016 Presidential Endorsements by Former Presidential Candidates
Name	Candidate	Date	Source
Carly Fiorina	Ted Cruz (primary)	March 2016	Politico
Ted Cruz	Donald Trump	September 2016	CNN
Jim Gilmore	Donald Trump	September 2016	Politico
Bernie Sanders	Hillary Clinton	July 2016	CNN
Martin O'Malley	Hillary Clinton	June 2016	Twitter
Rick Santorum	Donald Trump	May 2016	Reuters
Mike Huckabee	Donald Trump	May 2016	Twitter
Rick Perry	Donald Trump	May 2016	CNN
George Pataki	John Kasich	April 2016	ABC News
Jeb Bush	Ted Cruz	March 2016	Politico
Ben Carson	Donald Trump	March 2016	Politico
Carly Fiorina	Ted Cruz	March 2016	Politico
Bobby Jindal	Marco Rubio	February 2016	Tampa Bay Times
Lindsey Graham	Jeb Bush	January 2016	NBC News

Elections

2016

See also: Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2016 and Presidential election, 2016

Perry ran for president in 2016. On June 4, 2015, Perry announced his run for President of the United States, releasing a video on his campaign website before speaking in front of a crowd of supporters in Addison, Texas. He announced on September 11, 2015, that he had suspended his campaign.

2014

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2014

Perry chose not to seek re-election to a fourth term as governor of Texas in the 2014 election.

On July 8, 2013, Perry said, "I remain excited about the future and the challenges ahead but the time has come to pass on the mantle of leadership."

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Perry formally announced on August 13, 2011, that he was running for the 2012 Republican U.S. presidential nomination. Speaking to a group of conservative bloggers in Charleston, South Carolina, he went directly after President Barack Obama for his "failed western European social values" and criticized Obama's economic policies for trying to "win the future by selling it off to foreign creditors." "We don't need a president who apologizes for America. We need a president who protects and projects those values," he said.

Perry announced his presidential run on the same day as the Iowa Straw Poll. While his name was not on the ballot, Perry placed sixth in the poll as a write-in candidate, beating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney whose name was on the ballot.

On January 19, 2012, Perry suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination, choosing instead to endorse Newt Gingrich.

Race background

Perry began hinting at a potential 2012 bid for the presidency in May 2011. Reversing his previous insistence that he was not interested, Perry said on May 27, 2011, "I'm going to think about it. I think about a lot of things." The governor stated he wanted to wait until the Texas State Legislature adjourned before making a decision on a presidential run.

When asked by the Des Moines Register in July 2011 about his plans to run, Perry said, “I’m not ready to tell you that I’m ready to announce that I’m in. But I’m getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I’ve been called to do. This is what America needs.”

Another sign towards a Perry presidential campaign surfaced on July 26, 2011, when the fiscally conservative group GrowPac announced its support for Perry by launching a radio campaign in Iowa urging people to write in Perry on the August 13th Ames Straw Poll. The 60-second radio ad read:

“	Hi, I’m David Malpass. As an economist and father of four, I’m appalled at Washington’s out of control debt. President Obama is making things worse. We need a president who will stop this. Texas Governor Rick Perry has a proven track record of controlling spending and creating jobs. He succeeded in Texas by believing in less government, not more. Rick Perry understands the 10th amendment and has the backbone to bring an upheaval to Washington. Iowa has a chance to turn things around for America. At the Ames Straw Poll write in Rick Perry, he can win and make America secure again. I worked for Ronald Reagan and I know how countries create growth and jobs. Let’s give Rick Perry a chance. GrowPac is responsible for the content of this advertising. Paid for by GrowPAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Visit David Malpass’ GrowPac.Com	”
—David Malpass

Perry formally announced he was running for president on August 13, 2011.

Endorsements

A total of 51 elected officials endorsed Rick Perry for the 2012 presidency before he left the race.

For a full list see: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

2010

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2010

Perry won re-election in 2010. He faced two challengers in the Republican primary: Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina. Perry was able to avoid a runoff, by receiving 51 percent of the votes cast on March 2nd. He faced ex-Houston Mayor Bill White (D), Katherine Youngblood Glass (L), and Deb Shafto (G) in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Governor of Texas, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	55%	2,737,481
	Democratic	Bill White	42.3%	2,106,395
	Libertarian	Kathie Glass	2.2%	109,211
	Green	Deb Shafto	0.4%	19,516
	Write-In	Andy Barron	0.1%	7,267
Total Votes				4,979,870
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

2006

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2006

In the 2006 November general election, Perry defeated former Congressman Chris Bell of Houston (D), sales consultant James Werner (L), outgoing Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (I), and country singer Richard "Kinky" Friedman (I).

Governor of Texas, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	39%	1,716,792
	Democratic	Chris Bell	29.8%	1,310,337
	Libertarian	James Werner	0.6%	26,749
	Independent	Richard "Kinky" Friedman	12.4%	547,674
	Independent	Carole Keeton Strayhorn	18.1%	796,851
	Write-In	James "Patriot" Dillon	0%	713
Total Votes				4,399,116
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

2002

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2002

In the 2002 general election, Perry earned 2,632,591 votes (57.80 percent) to Sanchez's 1,819,798 (39.96 percent). Four other candidates shared 2.21 percent of the vote. In 2006, Perry earned a second term with 39 percent of the vote. While 61 percent of Texas voters opposed Perry, he won by plurality because his opposition was split four ways. Perry was the first governor since 1861 to be elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent. (There was also a similar plurality winner in 1853.)

On November 5, 2002, Rick Perry won re-election to the office of Governor of Texas. He defeated Tony Sanchez, Jeff Daiell, Rahul Mahajan, Elaine Eure Henderson, and Earl W. (Bill) O'Neil in the general election.

Governor of Texas, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	57.8%	2,632,591
	Democratic	Tony Sanchez	40%	1,819,798
	Libertarian	Jeff Daiell	1.5%	66,720
	Green	Rahul Mahajan	0.7%	32,187
	Write-In	Elaine Eure Henderson	0%	1,715
	Write-In	Earl W. (Bill) O'Neil	0%	976
Total Votes				4,553,987
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Rick Perry campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2010	Texas Governor	Won	$39,328,540	N/A**
2006	Texas Governor	Won	$20,199,539	N/A**
2002	Texas Governor	Won	$20,674,811	N/A**
1998	Texas Lieutenant Governor	Won	$12,385,439	N/A**
Grand total			$92,588,329	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

2016 Republican National Convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

Rick Perry
Republican National Convention, 2016
Status:	At-large delegate
State:	Texas
Bound to:	Ted Cruz
Delegates to the RNC 2016
Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • Delegate rules by state • State election law and delegates • Delegates by state

Perry was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Texas. Perry was one of 104 delegates from Texas bound by state party rules to support Ted Cruz at the convention. Cruz suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016. At the time, he had approximately 546 bound delegates. For more on what happened to his delegates, see this page.

Delegate rules

See also: RNC delegate guidelines from Texas, 2016 and Republican delegates from Texas, 2016

At-large delegates from Texas to the national convention were selected by a state nominations committee and approved by the Texas State GOP Convention in May 2016. District-level delegates were elected by congressional districts at the state convention and then approved by the convention as a whole. At the national convention, all delegates were bound on the first ballot unless their candidate withdrew from the race or released his or her delegates. A delegate remained bound on the second ballot if his or her candidate received at least 20 percent of the total vote on the first ballot. On the third and subsequent ballots, all delegates were to become unbound.

Texas primary results

See also: Presidential election in Texas, 2016

Texas Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Jeb Bush	1.2%	35,420	0
Ben Carson	4.2%	117,969	0
Chris Christie	0.1%	3,448	0
Ted Cruz	43.8%	1,241,118	104
Carly Fiorina	0.1%	3,247	0
Lindsey Graham	0.1%	1,706	0
Elizabeth Gray	0.2%	5,449	0
Mike Huckabee	0.2%	6,226	0
John Kasich	4.2%	120,473	0
Rand Paul	0.3%	8,000	0
Marco Rubio	17.7%	503,055	3
Rick Santorum	0.1%	2,006	0
Donald Trump	26.8%	758,762	48
Other	1%	29,609	0
Totals		2,836,488	155
Source: Texas Secretary of State and CNN

Delegate allocation

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Texas had 155 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 108 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 36 congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the primary vote in a district in order to be eligible to receive any of that district's delegates. If only one candidate met the 20 percent threshold in a district, he or she won all of the district's delegates. If two candidates met this threshold, the first place finisher received two of the district's delegates; the second place finisher received the remaining delegate. If no candidate won 20 percent of the vote, the top three finishers in a district each received one of the district's delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all of the district's delegates.

Of the remaining 47 delegates, 44 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the statewide primary vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. If only one candidate broke the 20 percent threshold, the second place finisher still received a portion of the state's at-large delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, whom he had known since elementary school. The couple has two children.

See also

Suggest a link

• Donald Trump potential high-level administration appointments
• U.S. Department of Energy
• Governor of Texas
• Lieutenant Governor of Texas

External links

• U.S. Department of Energy
• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Ernest Moniz	Secretary of Energy 2017-2019	Succeeded by Dan Brouillette
Preceded by George W. Bush (R)	Governor of Texas 2000 - 2015	Succeeded by Greg Abbott (R)
Preceded by Bob Bullock	Lieutenant Governor of Texas 1998-2000	Succeeded by Bill Ratliff
Preceded by -	Texas Commissioner of Agriculture 1990 - 1998	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Texas House of Representatives 1984 - 1990	Succeeded by -