Pro-Perry ads running in Iowa ahead of straw poll

Rick Perry won't appear at next month's 2012 GOP straw poll in Iowa, and he's not likely to even have said whether or not he's running for president by then. But supporters are still aiming to boost Perry's chances as a write-in candidate at the event.

GrowPAC, a New York-based political action committee, began running radio ads in Iowa this week urging straw poll attendees to write-in the Texas governor's name on the Aug. 13 ballot.

"Texas Governor Rick Perry has a proven track record of controlling spending and creating jobs. He succeeded in Texas by believing in less government, not more," the ad says, per the Des Moines Register. "At the Ames straw poll, write in Rick Perry, he can win and make America secure again … Let's give Rick Perry a chance."

The ads are the brainchild of David Malpass, who worked as an economic aide for former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He tells the Register's Jennifer Jacobs that he got on the Perry 2012 bandwagon after meeting the Texas governor at a New York City fundraiser in June.

"We want to encourage the governor to run for president," he tells the Register.

As The Ticket previously reported, the Iowa GOP voted over the weekend to exclude Perry's name from the straw poll ballot, given he's not yet a formal 2012 contender. Perry has said he will decide in coming weeks whether or not he'll run for president.