In 2012, Perry sought the Republican nomination, but after poor results in Iowa and New Hampshire, and after having made several gaffes which hurt his candidacy, he withdrew on January 19, 2012, prior to the South Carolina primaries.

He had also prepared extensively for a presidential campaign, holding a number of policy sessions and briefings with think tanks, including The Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, and others across the political spectrum.

Perry had hinted of running for president as early as 2014 and officially announced his candidacy on June 4, at a press event in a hangar at Addison Airport near Dallas, Texas, in front of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules bearing his campaign logo.

On June 19, 2014, at lunch organized by the Christian Science Monitor Perry criticized the Obama administration's policies on climate change, including proposed regulation of greenhouse gases, saying ""Calling CO2 a pollutant is doing a disservice the country...I’m not a scientist...I don’t believe that we have the settled science by any sense of the imagination...".

[12] However he was overshadowed largely by former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive, Carly Fiorina, whose strong performance catapulted her into the top-tier for the 2016 Republican nomination.

"[14] Despite his financial woes, Perry was invited to participate in the second debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and hosted by CNN on September 16, where he needed a breakout moment like Fiorina's.

In his speech, Perry laid out his economic agenda, at the same time criticizing the Republican Party for their previous attitudes towards race.

This made him eligible for the upcoming CNN debate on September 16 as a requirement was for candidates to have two paid staffers in first four early voting states.

On September 11 at a conservative gathering in St Louis, Missouri, Perry announced he was suspending his race for the Presidency of the United States, adding, "We have a tremendous field – the best in a generation – so I step aside knowing our party is in good hands.

[19] Perry maintained an active social media presence across Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram during the campaign.