More than 30,000 worshipers poured into Reliant Stadium Saturday, staging a boisterous prayer meeting with gospel music and Christian rock, emotional sermons and perhaps a political boost for the man who started it all: likely presidential candidate Rick Perry, the governor of Texas.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who got trounced by Gov. Rick Perry in the 2010 gubernatorial race, isn’t exactly jumping on board her old rival’s presidential wagon. She signaled in an MSNBC interview that she wants a candidate with private-sector experience.

Gov. Rick Perry is finally getting the kind of national spotlight he’ll need to run for president, but this weekend’s “day of prayer and fasting” rally in Houston may not be the kind of attention he was looking for.

After an introduction by former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, Gov. Rick Perry speaks to conservative activists at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver. Perry focused his attention on the economy and Barack Obama, but made a brief mention of his controversial remarks about gay marriage.

Rick Perry placed a distant second to Herman Cain in the Denver Straw Poll this weekend, but the Texas governor — not yet a declared candidate for president — outperformed putative frontrunners Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

Rick Perry drew direct fire from a potential rival Friday night when GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum attacked the Texas governor’s recent comments about how far states can go in setting policies on gay marriage and abortion.

Gov. Rick Perry, who has at least one eye on the White House, is already beating potential rival Rick Santorum in this quite unofficial contest: book sales at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver. The two were expected to sign books, in the same room, Friday afternoon.

Gov. Rick Perry wasn't born into wealth and has drawn relatively modest pay as an elected official since 1985, but he's made a small fortune on land transactions — some with the help of rich and politically connected friends.

Gov. Rick Perry isn't required to disclose his federal tax records but he has voluntarily released them for most of the time he has been in elected office. Perry, who makes $150,000 annually as governor, had his best year financially in 2007.

Gov. Rick Perry, taking flak from social conservatives, took a step back from his laissez-faire approach to New York’s gay marriage law on Thursday. Now he says it threatens the definition of marriage everywhere, including Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry’s name won’t appear on the key Iowa Straw Poll ballot, but he’ll face a test of his strength among Western conservatives this weekend in Denver in a straw poll of declared and undeclared Republican candidates.

Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he isn’t worried that a failure to increase the nation’s debt ceiling would trigger an economic catastrophe. He also says that it should be up to the states to decide whether abortion is illegal — or legal.

Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he isn’t worried that a failure to increase the nation’s debt ceiling would trigger an economic catastrophe. He also says that it should be up to the states to decide whether abortion is illegal — or legal.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday it had preserved certain travel records associated with the cost of providing security to Gov. Rick Perry before 2008, contrary to information it provided on Friday.  

State officials said Friday they can’t reveal how much money taxpayers are spending to protect Gov. Rick Perry — and that records of security costs compiled before 2008 have been “purged.”