Texas Governor Rick Perry is thinking about dropping out of some of the remaining presidential primary debates, a move that isn’t sitting well with Republican candidates who have been excluded from the forums.
Perry, who has seen his poll numbers drop after a series of debate performances, has only committed to one of the three scheduled events to be held between now and November 15. “These debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates,” he told Fox News earlier this week. “All they’re interested in is stirring it up between the candidates.” (RELATED: Perry’s first TV ad ‘Creating Jobs’ hits Iowa)
Former Louisiana Governor and presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, who has so far been excluded from every debate, had little sympathy for Perry’s point of view.
“We have Jon Huntsman who boycotts a debate just to show his convenient loyalty to New Hampshire, even though he originally showed more love to Florida,” he told The Daily Caller. “Now we have Rick Perry whose not trying to pander to any state, but realizes he’s just not ready for prime time. To the upcoming sponsors, if you want an intelligent, energetic and no BS debate, I will gladly replace any of the dropouts.”
Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico who has been excluded from most of the debates, also offered to fill in for Perry. “If I could take his spot, that would be terrific,” he told TheDC.
A spokesman for Perry told CNN the campaign will examine “the opportunities and opportunity cost” of each upcoming debate. Perry has formally committed to just one more debate, on November 9.