Bush Texas Successor Endorses Giuliani

ABC News’ Jan Simmonds reports:  The man who replaced President Bush as Governor of Texas, Rick Perry (R-Tex.), endorsed Rudy Giuliani (R-N.Y.), this morning at a morning news conference in Washington, DC.

At the press conference Perry, an abortion opponent, said his biggest concern about Giuliani was his support for abortion rights. 

"The one (issue) that I wanted to hear him give me an answer and look me right in my eyes was that issue of who can I expect, what type of individual can I expect on the Supreme Court," Perry said.

"He clearly said … you can look for people like Scalia and Roberts and Alito. Let me tell you, I can live with that."

Perry is the first sitting governor to endorse Giuliani and brings to his campaign a strong surrogate with credentials as a southerner and social conservative.  There has also been speculation that the Texas governor may be interested in being the Republican Party’s vice president nominee.

But there are some drawbacks in gaining Perry’s blessing. For instance, Perry was once a Democrat and comes from a family of Texas Democrats. 

In 1982, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat and was Al Gore’s Texas chairman during Gore’s run for the White House in 1988. Perry officially joined the Republican Party in 1989.

Considering the charges Giuliani has been fending off from Fred Thompson of late, questioning his conservative and Republican credentials, Perry’s past may highlight those issues.