Gov. Rick Perry is the first to admit that his views on a host of hot-button political issues — from letting states legalize marijuana and gay marriage to describing Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” — could cause him heartburn in a race for the White House.

Gov. Rick Perry's Saturday speech during the Republican Leadership Conference at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel.

Gov. Rick Perry, who has acknowledged thinking about running for president in 2012, fired up Republican voters Saturday in New Orleans, where conservative activists were anxious to hear a game plan for beating Barack Obama.

The Rick Perry 2012 button is a hot item at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where several major presidential contenders are fighting to win the who-is-most-conservative contest.

Rick Perry’s top strategist said Saturday that the Texas governor is still “at least weeks” away from making a decision about whether to run for president, a daunting financial and logistical undertaking even without the time pressures of a late entry.

It’s about as unscientific as you can get, but the Rick Perry 2012 button is a hot item at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where several major presidential contenders are trying to win the who-is-most-conservative contest.

In a trip to New York City on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry replaced Donald Trump to speak at the Manhattan GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner. Here's the full audio of his speech before prominent Republican New Yorkers at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. 

Gov. Rick Perry, moving closer to a run for the White House, took his anti-Washington message to New York City Tuesday, telling a gathering of Republican donors that the Obama administration had “promised jobs and … delivered economic misery.” It comes as Perry steps out increasingly on the national stage.

Gov. Rick Perry, in New York for a speech that’s fueling speculation about a possible run for the White House, said today that voters seem hungry for more candidates to pick from in the presidential contest. Perry, in an interview with the Tribune, said there's still ample time to get in the race. 

He bashed Barack Obama in Los Angeles over the weekend, fills in for The Donald today in the Big Apple and, on Saturday, Gov. Rick Perry will hit New Orleans for a GOP event that looks a lot like a cattle call for White House hopefuls. This is more like dipping an ankle than a toe into the presidential race.

Newt Gingrich lost his presidential campaign staff Thursday, adding to rampant speculation that Gov. Rick Perry will scoop them up to launch his own White House bid. Two of the aides, Gingrich campaign manager Rob Johnson and consultant Dave Carney, have extensive links to Perry.

The Texas House Redistricting Committee approved a new version of the congressional map that makes a few tweaks, mainly in North and South Texas. But the overall goal remains the same: Maintain and expand Republican power in Washington.

Are non-Christians bound for the gates of hell? The topic has generated heated discussion since Tim Wildmon, the president of the American Family Association, which Gov. Rick Perry has tapped to stage his Aug. 6 prayer vigil, told the Tribune that he believed only Christians will escape eternal damnation.

The sponsor paying the tab for Gov. Rick Perry's just-announced Aug. 6 "Day of Prayer and Fasting" is a controversial anti-gay group whose president told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday that non-Christians will "go to hell" unless they accept Jesus Christ as their savior.

A new redistricting map, drawn to promote and protect Republican interests in the U.S. Congress, sailed out of the GOP-led state Senate Monday. The map, approved along strict party lines, would give Republicans a decent chance of retaining every congressional seat they now hold plus a new one they don't.