Rick Perry has reportedly stopped paying all his campaign staff — but his super PAC is stepping in

Rick Perry can't pay his staff
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Rick Perry is finding it hard to make a good second impression on Republican voters and donors. The former Texas governor hasn't just stopped paying his presidential campaign staff in South Carolina, as National Journal reported Monday evening — he has stopped paying all staff, including at his campaign headquarters in Austin, CBS News and The Washington Post report, citing unidentified Republicans "familiar with the Perry campaign."

Perry, a fundraising powerhouse in the 2008 GOP primary, raised a relatively paltry $1.1 million in the most recent quarter — Jeb Bush raised $120 million in the same period, and Sen. Ted Cruz hauled in $52.5 million. The super PAC supporting Perry, Opportunity and Freedom, has fared better, raising almost $17 million by mid-July, and though it can't legally coordinate with the Perry campaign, it plans to fill in the gaps of Perry's now largely volunteer organization.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.