Longtime Texas Republican governor Rick Perry announced in Dallas today that he is trying his hand in the presidential race once again. One of only two  candidates who have served in the military, the other being Lindsey Graham, Perry made the announcement surrounded by veterans and Taya Kyle, the widow of the American Sniper. He’s not swaggering into the race near the top of pack this time, due to some embarrassing debate flubs during the 2012 race. However, a team has worked tirelessly with him since then to improve his debating skills, and he still his successes as governor to stand on.

In his announcement speech, Perry came out swinging against Obama on both foreign policy and the economy. “Our economic slowdown is not inevitable,” he declared. “It just happens to be the direct result of bad economic policy.” On Iraq, he distinguished himself as a hawk, saying, “No decision has caused more harm than the president’s decision to withdraw troops from Iraq.”

Perry is a fifth-generation Texan, the son of ranchers and Democrats. He grew up on his family’s dusty West Texas cotton farm near the community of Paint Creek, raised in a home with no running water. He attended Texas A&M University, where he got a degree in Animal Science and participated in the Corps of Cadets. He started his career selling books door to door, and went on to serve in the Air Force for several years, flying planes and achieved the rank of Captain.

He began his political career in the state legislature as a Democrat in 1984. He supported Al Gore’s campaign for president in 1988, but by 1989 he switched to the Republican Party. In 1990, he successfully ran for Agriculture Commissioner, and remained in that position until 1998, when he successfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Texas. He was appointed governor in 2000 when George W. Bush resigned to run for president, and remained there until earlier this year.

Perry’s signature achievement as governor was keeping state taxes down and nurturing a booming business environment. During his tenure the state generated more than 1.4 million jobs, a 13% increase. He’s known for his strong defense of the Second Amendment, luring firearm businesses to Texas away from blue states that had strict gun control laws. He has an A+ rating from the NRA.

He has described Obamacare as “socialism on American soil.” He’s taking a hawkish position on foreign policy, heavily critical of Obama’s approach to ISIS and his treatment of Israel. Perry is pro-life and by 2011 stated he opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest.

However, on religious liberty, Perry was rated a D on his handling of the Indiana religious freedom bill by The Pulse, a site tracking the presidential candidates on issues. Perry was noticeably silent, “declined to defend Indiana or state or federal RFRAs.” He has stated in the past that marriage should be between a man and a woman, although he believes the decision should be left up to the states.

He grew up a Methodist and now attends a large evangelical megachurch. He has said about religion in the public sphere,  “I … don’t think we should allow a small minority of atheists to sanitize our civil dialogue on religious references.” And in 2011, he proclaimed August 6 as a Day of Prayer and Fasting, inviting other governors to join him.

He has stated explicitly that he thinks “there are clear indications from” those with “amazing intellectual capability” that our universe “didn’t happen by accident and a creator put this in place.” In the same forum where he made that comment he also indicated he favors local schools choosing to teach the evidence both for and against evolution, though some of his own political appointees have worked to prevent students from being exposed to the evidential problems Neo-Darwnism faces.

He has made a few missteps as governor. In 2001, he stated he supported in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, and has not backed away from this position. The same year, he supported a Trans-Texas Corridor that would build superhighways through Texas as part of a “NAFTA Superhighway” across the U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It was opposed by Republicans and even Democrats, and finally scrapped in 2010. In 2007, he signed an executive order requiring all Texas girls to receive the HPV vaccine. There was a loud outcry and the legislature overturned his order.

The longest serving governor in Texas’s history, he was in office 14 years, his final term ending last January. Since then he has shown up frequently at candidate events in early primary states. The  Opportunity and Freedom super PAC was formed in March to support him. Perry has written two books, On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For (2008), and Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington (2009). He is married with two children.

Can Perry Bring Back His 2012 Momentum?

Currently polling 10th of all the GOP candidates, Perry barely qualifies for the first debate, which will be held on August 6th in Cleveland. Hosted by Fox News, it only includes the candidates currently polling in the top 10; the rest of the candidates will be placed in a second-tier forum.

The race is more competitive this year, with a broader field and several candidates like Bush, Rubio and Walker already surging. Perry will be competing for the Christian conservative base of the party, and this time he can’t count on winning Texas, since Cruz also hails from the Lone Star State. He’ll also be facing negative publicity during the race from a politically motivated prosecution in Travis County over a feud he got into with a Democrat DA who refused to resign after getting caught with a DUI.

Generally, Perry is a great speaker. He is warm, reassuring and optimistic. “I am running for president, because I know our country’s best days are ahead of us,” he comments on his website. The New York Times notes that “his signature cowboy boots have been swapped for bookish glasses,” but the 65-year old still looks great for his age. He has experience running for president that most of the other candidates lack, and he has a large, national ground game. His tenure as governor has provided him with executive experience administrating a very large state and the ability to claim that he is a Washington outsider.

He may have enough crossover appeal to moderates to cut into Bush’s lead. If he can tap into that, he could have a shot. But he a lot of catching up to do, and his 2012 debate performances are a major reason. In one of the debates, he said there were three federal government agencies he would abolish abolish if elected president and then not only forgot one of the three, but handled the mishap very awkwardly.

Since that fateful night, he’s worked to improve his speech delivery with Podium Masters, run by the former head of the famed Royal Shakespeare Company. He’s admitted he wasn’t as prepared on the issues as he could have been, and says he’s done his homework now. He has also recovered from severe back pain that impeded his health in 2012. But so memorable was that earlier debate performance that a merely decent performance this time around won’t likely be enough. In order to get back to where he was four years ago, he will need to ace the debates.