Most voters don't think Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) should run for reelection, let alone take on another presidential bid, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Democratic-leaning firm PPP.
Fewer than a third of Texas voters said Perry should run for reelection, while 62 percent -- including 39 percent of Republican -- said he should not. Nearly eight in 10 Texans, including two-thirds of Republicans, said he shouldn't take another stab at the presidency in 2016.
“Most Texas voters are ready to move on from Rick Perry,” said Dean Debnam, PPP's president.
The results suggest that a year later, Perry has still yet to rebound from his failed presidential campaign, which sent his home-state approval ratings crashing. A January 2012 poll put his approval in Texas at 40 percent, on par with the 41 percent PPP found this month.
It remains to be seen whether that dissatisfaction spells real electoral trouble for Perry. Republican primary voters said that they'd prefer a different Republican candidate for governor, but given the choice between him and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, they narrowly preferred Perry, 47 to 41 percent. The two politicians are friendly, but Abbott is rumored to be considering a bid.
“I’ve been underestimated many times before, so we’ll just let it sit right there," Perry told reporters in response to the possible challenge.
Republicans still solidly approve of the governor's performance, 68 percent to 26 percent who disapprove, and according to PPP's hypothetical matchups, they would largely back him in a general election.
In those matchups, Perry eked out single-digit victories against Democrats Julian Castro, Wendy Davis and Annise Parker, but lost to former Houston mayor Bill White by 3 points. Abbott fared better against all four candidates.
PPP surveyed 500 Texas voters, with an oversample of 400 Republican primary voters, between Jan. 24 and 27, using automated phone interviews.
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