Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said on Tuesday he is thinking seriously about a run for the presidency and presented himself as a conservative stalwart at a party fundraiser.
Perry told the New York Republican Party's annual Lincoln Dinner that he agreed with former President Ronald Reagan's belief that social and economic issues, the "two main segments of contemporary American conservatism," could be joined into "one politically effective whole;"
Earlier on Tuesday, Perry said in an interview on Fox News that the presidency was not on his radar six weeks ago, but now he's "giving it the appropriate thought process."