Rick Perry May Skip Some Of Remaining GOP Presidential Debates

Texas Governor Rick Perry's presidential campaign appeared to suggest on Wednesday that he might skip out on some of the remaining Republican debates.

With the GOP primary debate season less than halfway over -- and the top candidates already having logged eight appearances -- Perry communications director Ray Sullivan appeared on CNN and argued that it was ridiculous to expect the contenders to take to the stage so many times over the next few months.

"We're about 60 days away from votes being cast," Sullivan said. "The candidates need to spend time in Iowa doing those town halls and spending a lot more time with the voters, who oftentimes have the best questions and press the candidates the hardest."

Though the schedule is constantly changing, there are somewhere around 14 debates on the calendar between November and March.

"There's no way that the candidates can do all those debates," Sullivan said, before confirming that Perry would at least take part in the next debate, slated to take place at Oakland University in Michigan on November 9.

(Video via CNN below)

Perry presaged his campaign's reluctance to embrace the rigorous debate schedule earlier this week on Fox News, when he described partaking in the events as a "mistake."

"All they're interested in is stirring up between the candidates instead of really talking about the issues that are important to the American people," Perry claimed.

Perry has taken a beating in the media for his debate performances, a response that has largely been reflected in recent polling figures.

But the issue of avoiding debates isn't a new one for Perry. During his reelection campaign for Texas governor in 2010, he flat out refused to share the stage with Democratic challenger Bill White. Perry's blanket hold on debates brought repeated protests, including by demonstrators who repeatedly attacked the governor as a "chicken."