Whatever Rick Perry's election plans for two or three years down the road, a clear-eyed look at the situation in Texas in the wake of his presidential bid suggests that the unflattering narrative of the campaign trail won’t define the governor’s return to Texas politics. He returns to a dominant position in state government, largely unaffected by negative perceptions of him picked up in polling in the state and amplified coverage of the Texas newspaper survey in the field Jan. 21-24.

The dings in his national image are unlikely to prevent Perry from picking up where he ...

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