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Rick Perry Announces Presidential Bid

Hopes for better fate than in doomed 2012 campaign

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Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry became the 10th Republican to officially run for president on Thursday.

In a speech in a Dallas suburb, the long-serving Texas governor attempted to turn back the clock on his failed 2012 attempt, which foundered when he fell short against other Republicans in debates, famously forgetting one of his own campaign platforms mid-answer—his “oops” moment.

On Thursday, Perry said, “It’s time for a reset.”

“We have the power to make things new again,”he said, “to project America’s strength again and to get our economy going again. And that is exactly why I am running for President of the United States of America.”

Read More: Read Full Text of Rick Perry’s Campaign Launch

Perry has sought a low-key rehabilitation, seeking to rebuild his reputation with interviews meant to show his command of the issues. As a former governor, he also hopes to differentiate himself from a field thick with Republican senators, including Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.

During his speech Thursday, Perry called Texas the “engine of growth” under his leadership and noted his record as governor, highlighting his handling of last summer’s crisis involving unaccompanied minors crossing the Southwestern border.

“If you elect me your president, I will secure that border,” he said.

Still, he faces some trouble back home, as a Texas grand jury indicted him last year on two abuse-of-power charges which claim he broke the law when he threatened and vetoed funding for a district attorney who was arrested for drunk-driving. Perry has denied wrongdoing and called the indictments politically motivated.

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In a brief one-minute video posted ahead of the speech, Perry said the United States was showing “weakness abroad” and a “slow recovery economically” and said he would “bridge the partisan divide.”

Perry currently polls at the bottom of the Republican pack, picking up an average of 2.7% support in the Real Clear Politics average of polls. That puts him right at the cusp of being invited on stage at the official GOP debates, which are being limited due to the unusually large field.

Read More: Rick Perry’s Lone Star Do-Over

See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential

Values Voters Summit USA - Hillary Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry Jeb Bush Sen. Bernie Sanders Launches Presidential Bid In Vermont Political Theatre Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Georgia Senate Candidate David Perdue Campaigns With Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) Rick Perry Bobby Jindal Martin O'Malley Marco Rubio Ben Carson Barack Obama, Jim Webb John Kasich, Election Conservative Political Action Conference Scott Walker Mike Huckabee Former Rhode Island Governor Chafee poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination to be U.S. president during an address to the GMU School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs in Arlington FILE: Lindsey Graham To Run For President Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Pataki on May 28, 2015 entered the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, joining a crowded field of candidates vying to retake the White House for their party. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/Files

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