WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination after finishing fifth in the Iowa caucuses, campaign aides confirmed Wednesday.
Perry made the decision early Wednesday morning after announcing earlier that he was heading home to Texas to “reassess” his bid for the nomination. He finished behind four other candidates with 10.3 percent of the vote in the Hawkeye State caucuses despite heavy spending in the state.
Perry is still planning to skip the New Hamsphire primary and go straight to South Carolina, according to a Twitter message he posted Wednesday morning saying, “And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State…Here we come South Carolina!!!”
Campaign aides confirmed Perry’s decision to The Washington Examiner. The news spread like wildfire among Perry staffers at the Sheraton in West Des Moines, where his Iowa operation is based, after one staffer excitedly announced the news to the hotel dining room.
