Perry Campaign Cutting Back In Key Primary State

Perry campaign manager Jeff Miller told the staff Friday, the day after the first Republican presidential debate, that they would no longer be paid and are free to look for other jobs.

Rick Perry has stopped paying his campaign staff in South Carolina.

The move to stop paying campaign staff raises serious funding concerns in an already crowded and financially scarce Republican field.

Spokesman Lucy Nashed said late Monday that “tough decisions have to be made in respect to both monetary and time-related resources”. “Governor Perry remains committed to competing in the early states and will continue to have a strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina”. At present, Perry is making arrangements for his campaign in South Carolina on Thursday and readying his visit to Iowa next week.

“Pay is only one reason people do this”, Katon Dawson, Perry’s South Carolina state director, told National Journal.

“I’m still going to pick up the governor on Thursday, and I’m excited to do it”, Dawson said, adding, “the governor is doing well here”. “We all moved to volunteer status”. However, the two newspapers cited an anonymous source saying that the issue has spread to the former governor’s offices in Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as his campaign headquarters in Austin, Texas. Although it is not possible to lawfully synchronize with the Perry campaign, there are strategies to cover the gaps of Perry’s essentially volunteer organization. They include Dawson, and two political consultants in the state.

Outside groups supporting Perry’s bid, however, have seen more success, raking in $13.8 million during the second quarter of this year. As of July, the campaign had about $884,000 in cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings. He has barely risen above 1 or 2 percent support and didn’t make the Top 10 candidates invited to the main prime-time debate on Fox News last week.