Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States at a RedState bloggers gathering in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday. The event also featured a speech by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

The blog RedState.com describes itself as “the most widely read right of center blog on Capitol Hill” as well as "the most often cited right of center blog in the media."

Perry noted at the beginning of his speech: "It is great to be at RedState. And I’ll tell you what, it’s even better to be governor of the largest red state in America." He did not mention, however, that he once worked to make Texas a blue state. In 1988, he served as Texas chairman of Democrat Al Gore's presidential bid. The following year, he joined the Republican Party. He became Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1999 and Governor in 2000.

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Photo of Gov. Rick Perry: AP Images