Ben Philpott, KUT News

I finally get back to covering the campaign this Friday. Gov. Rick Perry and the rest of the GOP presidential field have two debates coming up in Iowa.

All of the major candidates, except John Huntsman who has a "New Hampshire or Bust" campaign, will be living in the Hawkeye state until caucus day January 3.

Which means I'll be living there too, minus three days back in Austin for Christmas. So I've started packing for the trip.

Much of the GOP primary coverage out of Texas has been focused on the campaign of Governor Perry, which you can explain by his dramatic entry and ascension to the top of the GOP field.

But as Perry has become an afterthought in recent national and state polls, Ron Paul and his followers have begun to wonder why they aren't getting more attention.

Paul ranked second in the most recent Des Moines Register poll released last week, sandwiched in between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

The Register has a great story up today talking about what each of the top three needs to do to pull out a win in Iowa. Number one on Paul's list: grow his base. The Texas Congressman's 18 percent support in the poll isn't likely to decline, because the people who like Paul, love him. They aren't likely to change their minds between now and the caucus. But he'll need to add supporters if he wants to win.

The "comeback" scenario for Texas Governor Rick Perry usually has him being able to outlast other candidates and be the last man standing between Mitt Romney and the nomination. Perry is believed to have enough money to get through January. Most of the others definitely don't.

So for Perry, having Herman Cain drop out of the race today, should give him a little boost going into the Iowa caucus.

Perhaps seeking to ignite a spark in his followers, Texas Governor Rick Perry released a couple of new campaign ads today. One focusing on energy policy. The other...oh wait...umm...oh yeah, his debate brain freeze.

The GOP Presidential hopefuls already had two Iowa debate on the schedule in December. Now, Fox News has added an 90-minute candidate forum on the 3rd at the network's HQ in New York City. The forum will be hosted by 2008 GOP presidential candidate and Fox talk show host Mike Huckabee.

Governor Rick Perry made another misstep on the campaign trail today.  While speaking to college students at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm's College, Perry asked students who would be at least 21 years old on Election Day to vote for him.

Then he said, "…those of you that won’t be, just work hard," for his campaign.

The voting age is of course 18, and it has been the United States adopted the 26th amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1971. 

Governor Rick Perry was at the top of the GOP primary polls - until a series of poor debate performances and a single policy that many in the Republican base thought made his "soft" on illegal immigration.

Now the Governor may regain some of his footing among those who want to shut down the United States-Mexico border.

The controversial sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona -- Joe Arpaio -- is expected to endorse Perry in the next few days, according to a report by ABC News. Just about all of the GOP candidates have called or visited Arpaio to try to get his stamp of approval. 

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is filing a request for an emergency stay with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the implementation of redistricting maps issued by a federal panel in San Antonio.

The Attorney General is arguing that the interim maps drawn by a three-judge panel violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law by redrawing maps created by the elected legislature. The judges rejected an attempt by Abbott to suspend enforcement of the maps.

This morning on KUT, we reported on the role evangelicals would play in the 2012 election, specifically the GOP primary. Part of the story focused on the tenuous relationship between the religions right and on-again-off-again Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.

Meanwhile, a new poll out today from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life puts a number on why some evangelicals aren't supporting the Romney campaign.

Pew's research shows more than half of white evangelicals polled do not believe the Mormon religion is Christian. 

Tonight is Texas Governor Rick Perry's eighth Republican primary debate. I will have been at seven of them.

Each debate is remembered by what happens on stage. What was said, what wasn't said, and whether or not one of the candidates messed up.

Reporters view them the same way. But we also can't help but compare the behind-the-scenes set up from debate to debate. 

Voters in  Iowa and New Hampshire are accustomed to having dozens of reporters roaming around their fair cities and towns - usually trailing a presidential candidate or two. So it's often pretty easy to find someone to talk about his or her impressions of or interactions with candidates. 

At least once a day a reporter on the road meets up with someone who has - let's say - unique information about a candidate he or she doesn't like.

This week on the KUT News/Texas Tribune TribCast, Ross, Reeve, Ben and Mark talk post-"Oops" Perry, his proposal to make the U.S. Congress more like the Texas Legislature, and a recent wrong turn for Formula 1 racing in Austin.

Gov. Perry was not in the spotlight at the South Carolina foreign policy and national security debate. He was the 5th person to get a question - a result of his 5th place standing in at least one state poll. But he never stumbled - and even showed emotion and conviction when answering questions.

He started the debate by skipping the questions asked, instead answering questions asked to other candidates. (Maybe they were questions he was more comfortable with.)

After a two-day media blitz attempting to counter Wednesday night's 53 seconds of forgetfulness, Gov. Perry and the rest of the GOP field are back on stage tonight at Wofford College in South Carolina.