The same day he was arraigned on abuse of power charges, Texas Governor Rick Perry kicked off a two-day visit to New Hampshire, fueling speculation about another presidential bid.
Speaking at an Americans for Prosperity event in Manchester on Friday, Governor Rick Perry didn’t shy away from the indictment handed down last week.
“This indictment isn’t about me. This is a lot bigger than me. It’s about the state system of constitutional checks and balances. We’ll prevail.”
This marks the three-term Texas governor’s first trip back to the Granite State since a disappointing sixth place finish in the 2012 New Hampshire primary.
He played to the crowd, making it clear there were no hard feelings.
“You have no state sales tax. You got us one up on that,” he joked. “You don’t hear me say that very often, do you? You’re ahead of us there.”
Perry has stops in Stratham, Rochester and Chichester on tap for Saturday.
After New Hampshire, he’s scheduled to tour two other early primary states: Iowa and South Carolina.