President 2012: Rick Perry Meets in Los Angeles with Potential Presidential Donors
From left, Anita Perry stands next to her husband Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and his wife, Saba Musharraf, as they post for photographs on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Austin, Texas. Musharraf met with Perry to exchange ideas about improving the economy and discuss the strained relationship between the U.S. and Pakistani governments. Musharraf has been critical of the White House’s recent suspension of $800 million in U.S. aid to the Pakistani military, saying the decreased aid will hurt his country and hinder its fight against terrorism
Texas Gov. Rick Perry met privately Wednesday with potential fundraisers in Los Angeles as he neared a decision on whether to enter the 2012 presidential race.
About 30 people joined the conservative Republican at a hotel in the Century City neighborhood for an event coordinated by influential fundraiser Renee Croce, who helped raise millions of dollars for former California Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson.
Perry has been traveling the nation to gauge his support among party loyalists, elected officials and donors, while fashioning the framework of what could become a national campaign.
The Texas governor would join a wide-open GOP field, but a key issue is whether he can raise hundreds of millions of dollars to wage a 50-state presidential battle. Many deep-pocketed donors in California, a rich source of campaign cash, have been holding back their checks while the field takes shape.
I don’t think campaign cash will be Rick Perry’s problem.
But, beating back Michele Bachmann in South Carolina and doing well enough in New Hampshire are more pressing matters.
When it comes to financing a presidential campaign “it’s a numbers game,” said investor Michael Fourticq Sr., managing partner at Hancock Park Associates, one of the hosts of the meeting with the Texas governor.
For Perry, “I think the money is there,” Fourticq said.
Perry is on a two-day swing through California, where he planned a string of private meetings. It was his third trip to the nation’s most populous state since June 12.