Some Republicans Losing Faith in Rick Perry

September 27, 2011

Republican presidential candidate Texas Governor Rick Perry addresses the Republican Leadership Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan, September 24, 2011.

It was only last month that Texas Governor Rick Perry decided to enter the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination and quickly zoomed to the top of public opinion polls. But in recent weeks Perry has stumbled in the candidate debates, and the new doubts about Perry have led some Republicans to renew pressure on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to enter the race

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The first actual votes in the U.S. presidential nominating process are still months away, but it has already been a roller-coaster ride for Rick Perry.

Perry came into the race as a favorite among Christian conservative voters who also boasts a strong record of job-creation in Texas.

"America is going to be guided by some set of values," said Perry. "The question is going to be whose values and I would suggest most of the people in this audience believe it is those Christian values that this country was based upon."

But Perry has stumbled in recent debates, both in trying to attack his main rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and in trying to defend his record as Texas governor.

Perry has also been criticized by conservative rivals for supporting a Texas law that allows the children of illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state university tuition rates.