Rick Perry to Make Official Bid for GOP Nomination

Rick Perry will make it known on Saturday during a speech in South Carolina that he is joining the presidential race.

The Texas governor's spokesman Mark Miner told The Associated Press on Thursday that Perry will make his intentions known on Saturday while visiting South Carolina and New Hampshire. However, Perry's run for the presidency is no surprise as he has been laying the groundwork for such a campaign and flirting with the idea since spring.

Perry has had privately meetings with potential donors from California to New York and has given rousing speeches to party faithfuls. He has also spoken privately with four high-profile state officials to include Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and the speakers of the Arizona, Utah and New Hampshire state houses, during the National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in San Antonio, Texas.according to Politico.

Perry will be competing with other GOP presidential hopefuls such as Mitt Romney, who is the frontrunner for the party, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann.