COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Texas Gov. Rick Perry told South Carolina Republicans on Wednesday that it’s important for the GOP to control Congress so they can solve the country’s immigration problem and other national issues.
The potential presidential candidate kicked off two days of events in the state that holds the first-in-the-South primary with a fundraising party in Columbia. The timing lets the former yell leader at Texas A&M take in some football, too, as his beloved Aggies open the college football season Thursday against South Carolina. He has several other stops planned around Columbia before the game, including a speech to high school athletes who belong to a Christian organization.
Perry ran for president in 2012, but he dropped out before South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary.
The Texas Republican hardly mentioned the 2016 presidential race during his 10-minute speech Wednesday night, instead telling the crowd of about 100 people how important it is for Republicans to take back Congress so they can have a voice on issues like immigration reform. He noted that President Barack Obama refused his invitation to tour Texas’ border with Mexico with him.
“I don’t care how good your briefers are. The president needed to see the challenge of that 1,200-mile border,” he said.