Rick Perry has reportedly stopped paying all his campaign staff — but his super PAC is stepping in
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.
Perry campaign spokesman Jeff Miller says the candidate "remains committed to competing in the early states and will continue to have a strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina," and Austin Barbour, a senior adviser to the super PAC, says his group will try to build a ground organization for Perry in those states. "The super PAC is not going to let Rick Perry down," Barbour told The Post. The newspaper notes that eventual 2008 GOP nominee Sen. John McCain was in a similarly perilous financial situation at the same point in 2007.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Wikipedia: Is ‘neutrality’ still possible?Feature Wikipedia struggles to stay neutral as conservatives accuse the site of being left-leaning
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
