Local party leaders offered mixed reactions to Gov. Rick Perry's decision to drop out of the presidential race on Thursday.
Denton County Republican Party chairwoman Dianne Edmondson said she was surprised Perry didn't do better in the polls.
"He is a solid candidate," Edmondson said.
"However, as he himself would admit, there were some things in the beginning of the campaign that didn't go very well. He got in late and didn't do as well in the early debates as he did in later ones, and people couldn't overlook that."
Just two days before the primary in North Charleston, S.C., Perry announced the end to his campaign and his endorsement of Newt Gingrich.
"I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path to victory for my candidacy in 2012," Perry said. "I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country."
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, speaking before a GOP event in Lewisville, said he backed Perry because he thought the governor could best fight "overregulation and mandates from [Washington] that are crushing jobs." Abbott said he would continue collaborating with Perry to fight what they see as federal overreaches on health care, the environment and other issues.
Phyllis Wolper, chairwoman of the Denton County Democratic Party, said Perry's exit was overdue.
"I truly didn't believe from the beginning that he actually had the kind of organization or backing that would have gotten him the nomination," Wolper said. "I would have expected that he might have gotten more support from evangelical groups, but I think one of his main problems was that the other players had been on the national scene for a very long time and it is very difficult to catch up to that."
Money also was a factor, with Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan saying, "We have spent the bulk of our funds." He added that Perry hasn't ruled out running again for governor or the White House in 2016 if President Barack Obama is re-elected.
Perry ended his campaign where he launched it last August, when tea party and evangelical Christian leaders hailed him as a charismatic conservative and some early polls showed him as a front-runner for the Republican nomination. But soon after, Perry's verbal gaffes and poor debate performances sent his campaign into a tailspin from which it never recovered.
It was too soon to tell whether Perry's rocky turn on the national stage had damaged him politically at home. But already there were signs of his diminished clout.
Several Texas donors who fueled his bid indicated they were likely to back Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is considered the more moderate candidate in the race. And South Carolina House speaker David Wilkins, who had supported Perry, ignored the governor's recommendation and shifted his support to Romney, too.
Short of a Gingrich victory leading to a job for Perry in Washington, Perry will most likely stay in Austin where - despite his dismal presidential campaign - he's still considered the most powerful politician in the state. He has appointed more than 1,000 people to key government positions since becoming governor in 2000. State lawmakers also depend on his support.
But that doesn't mean he won't face serious headwinds.
Democrats insist the failed presidential run has diminished his power and embarrassed Texans. Conservatives also have complained about the $2.6 million the state has spent on his security detail while he campaigned outside the state. Top Republicans, meanwhile, have been positioning themselves to replace him whether he won the presidency or retired in 2014.
The Texas Democratic Party was ready Thursday to begin exploiting any perceived weakness created by Perry's decision and called on him to focus on problems at home, including legal questions about the constitutionality of the school finance system as well as water shortages and greenhouse gas emissions.
Perry's biggest supporters, in turn, welcomed him home.
Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business, said "Gov. Perry has always been good for Texas business."
