During a recent interview with CNN’s Kate Bolduan, former Texas Governor, Rick Perry, denied that he intentionally failed to submit his ballot for the Republican primary in Texas.
According to rumors, Perry, who dropped out early in the race for the White House, did not want to lose his eventual eligibility to run for president as a third-party candidate; he would be ineligible to run if he voted for another candidate in the primaries. Perry denied these rumors and claimed that it was simply a mistake made by the local post office which lost his ballot. He further asserted that he will make sure that his form is received by the local courthouse in the upcoming runoff elections.
Interestingly, Perry himself hinted back in February, during another CNN interview with Erin Burnett, that he would be open to continuing his presidential campaign further down the line, stating that the 2016 election could prove to be “a whole new ball game.”
During a recent meeting in Washington, D.C. between members of the Republican establishment, the names of Rick Perry and former Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn were put forth as potential third-party candidates if the party is unable to stop Trump at a brokered convention. Neoconservative pundit Bill Kristol is in favor of this third-party option in the hope of collecting the votes of those Republicans that do not see their views reflected by Trump. Other Republicans, such as Newt Gingrich, are far more supportive of an eventual Trump-Cruz alliance in order to avoid a brokered convention, thus hoping to maintain the unity of the party.
What if Rick Perry did, in fact, intentionally avoid sending his ballot? What could be the end-result for the Republicans and the general elections if Rick Perry actually decides to run for president as a third-party candidate? Assuming that Trump makes it safely through the convention, could Perry potentially pose a real challenge to Trump’s candidacy? Everything seems to be quite open for a potential Perry run.
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore and available under Creative Commons 2.0 license.
