Texas governor Rick Perry won’t participate in the presidential forum today in South Carolina, where Senator Jim DeMint, Congressman Steve King, and Princeton professor Robert George are questioning GOP presidential candidates. A Perry spokesman says the governor had to return to Texas because of massive wildfires in the state that have forced some Texans to evacuate.
“Gov. Perry is cancelling the remainder of his South Carolina schedule today, including the Palmetto Freedom Forum, and tomorrow’s California schedule to return to Texas. Gov. Perry’s first priority is to the people of Texas during this natural disaster,” Perry communications director Ray Sullivan said in a statement. “The Governor is in close communication with emergency operations officials regarding fires in Texas, including discussions with emergency management leaders over the weekend and this morning.”
Today would have been the first real test of how Perry handles himself under tough questioning as a presidential candidate. No word yet on whether Perry will participate in Wednesday’s presidential debate in California. There are two more presidential debates scheduled this month on September 12 and September 22.
