Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign to poach California businesses and bring them to his state is “getting in” the “heads” of Golden State lawmakers, according to California Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Perry began running radio ads last week in California that encourages businesses to the state, where he says building a business is “next to impossible,” for what he says is the far more business-friendly climate of Texas. For the first half of this week, the Texas Republican will be in California on a “business recruitment trip,” traveling to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, and Orange County.
There has been some negative reaction to Perry’s appearance in the state. Jerry Brown, California’s Democratic governor, scoffed at the idea that Perry’s efforts were news, saying: “It’s not a burp. It’s barely a fart.”
But Newsom said Perry, a onetime presidential hopeful, was coming out ahead.
“Perry’s getting exactly what he wanted,” he said, according to National Review. “He’s getting all kinds of press up and down the state, and why? Well, because he’s leaning in. He’s in the game. He’s getting in our heads.”