Texas Gov. Rick Perry was booed at the state GOP convention Thursday when he mentioned his support for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s candidacy for Senate.
“We need more conservatives in Texas, and we need more conservative Texans in Washington, D.C., including my friend David Dewhurst,” Perry said, to boos from the crowd.
Dewhurst is facing former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz in a run-off election for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Cruz has largely drawn support from more conservative elements of the party.
The Associated Press described the boos as “long and sustained.”
The run-off election will be held on July 31.
After a poor performance in the Republican presidential primaries, punctuated by embarrassing gaffes, Perry’s approval rating in Texas dropped to an all-time low. A January poll found that a majority of Texans did not want Perry to seek a fourth term in 2014.