Rick Perry through the years

A look at the Texas governor now seeking the GOP presidential nomination.

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Dec, 3, 2011

Gov. Rick Perry stands for a portrait at the Helmsley Hotel in New York.

Melina Mara / THE WASHINGTON POST

Six-year-old Rick Perry poses with horses in Haskell, Tex.

Perry family / AP

1971

Texas A&M University yell leaders Rick Perry, left, and Tommy Orr with dog Reveille III, the school’s mascot, in College Station, Tex.

/ AP

1989

Rick Perry, son Griffin and daughter Sydney pose for a family photo by Perry’s wife, Anita, in Austin.

Anita Perry / AP

Oct. 19, 1990

Then-Republican candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner, Rick Perry talks with reporters while stopping in Waco, Tex., as he traveled across the state in a vintage World War II B-25 bomber plane.

Rod Aydelotte / AP

1990

Rick Perry looks over a horse at the Lambshead Ranch in West Texas.

Dec. 21, 2000

Newly sworn-in Texas Gov. Rick Perry acknowledges applause in the Senate Chamber of the Texas Capitol where he took the oath of office in the company of President-elect George W. Bush, who resigned as governor earlier in the day. Behind them is a portrait of Texas pioneer Stephen F. Austin.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

May 25, 2005

Rick Perry jokingly sniffs the artificial flower of his wife's corsage during a ceremony at the Texas Senate in Austin. As children, Perry and his wife, Anita, sat next to each other at a piano recital. As teenagers, they went on their first date to a football game. Many years later, in 1982, they married. "His smile," says Anita Thigpen Perry, "won my heart."

Harry Cabluck / AP

Jan. 21, 2003

Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, walk under the Ross Volunteers’ Saber Arch during Perry's inauguration in Austin.

Eric Gay / AP

Dec. 29, 2005

Rick Perry consoles Paula Winfrey after walking through the remains of her mother's house, which was destroyed in a grass fire in Cross Plains, Tex.

Matt Slocum / AP

Nov. 6, 2006

President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush pose with Perry and his wife, Anita, during a campaign rally at Reunion Arena in Dallas.

Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 10, 2010

Fighting to keep his seat as Texas governor, Perry speaks to city leaders and media at an announcement concerning U.S. and Mexican border restrictions in Corpus Christi, Tex.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Nov. 2, 2010

Perry embraces his wife, Anita, at the Victory Texas and Republican Party of Texas election night watch party at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch in Buda, Tex.

Ben Sklar / Getty Images

April 12, 2011

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, right, looks at his laptop before taking off in a jet in Addison, Tex.

LM Otero / AP

Aug. 6, 2011

Texas Gov. Rick Perry bows his head in prayer at "The Response," a call to prayer for a nation in crisis, in Houston. Perry attended the day-long prayer rally despite criticism that the event inappropriately mixes religion and politics.

David J. Phillip / AP

Aug. 13, 2011

Perry speaks during the RedState Gathering, a meeting of conservative activists, where he announced his run for presidency in Charleston, S.C.

Gerry Broome / AP

Nov. 9, 2011

Republican presidential candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) speak during a Republican presidential debate at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Paul Sancya / AP

Nov. 11, 2011

Rick Perry waves during a Veterans Day parade in Columbia, S.C.

Tim Dominick / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 18: Jockey Gary Stevens rides Oxbow out to the front of the pack on the first straight away during the 138th Running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

Oxbow wins and infield fun at Preakness Stakes in Baltimore

Oxbow put D. Wayne Lukas in the record books again with an upset of Orb in the Preakness, giving the Hall of Fame trainer his 14th win in a Triple...

New York Yankees' Travis Hafner bats during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, May 12, 2013, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

MLB power rankings

Barry Svrluga assesses the best teams in Major League Baseball through Thursday.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: Many seminary graduates are choosing not to become pastors. Rebecca J. Cole received her Master of Divinity and is becoming a community organizer on Capitol Hill. She hugs another graduate after the ceremony. The 2013 Commencement ceremony for Wesley Theological Seminary was held on May 13 at the Washington National Cathedral. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Eager to minister, but not from the pulpit

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epa03704474 A Muslim woman at the ThetKalPyin temporary relief camp near Sittwe in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 17 May 2013. A total of 13 people were confirmed dead in neighboring Bangladesh as people began to return home from shelters, a day after Cyclone Mahasen hit the coast, officials said 17 May. EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 16: American Idol Season 12 Winner Candice Glover (C) is seen onstage during Fox's 'American Idol 2013' Finale Results Show at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Candice Glover wins 12th season of ‘American Idol’

The 23-year-old vocal powerhouse from St. Helena Island, S.C., tops competition in her third try.

US actress Claire Julien smiles on May 16, 2013 while posing during a photocall for the film 'The Bling Ring' at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo credit should read ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Claire Julien, David Hasselhoff, Freida Pinto, Candice Glover, Martin Short and more.

**LOC IMAGE** Geo. Hamilton, Assistant Superintendent, Cambria Iron Mills house, Johnstown Flood, May 31st, 1889. (Photo by Ernest Walter Histed / Library of Congress)

The Johnstown Flood of 1889

On May 31, 1889, the South Fork dam that held Lake Conemaugh failed, and 20 million tons of water descended upon Johnstown, Pa. The flood claimed the lives of 2,209 people and spurred...

HACIPASA, TURKEY - MAY 5: Syrian refugee Hala ponders her life on the run on Sunday, May 5, 2013, in Hacipasa, Turkey. Three times this morning, the sounds of aircrafts were followed by explosions that shook the ground. Hacipasa, which sits just across the river border from Syria, is home of several hundred Syrian refugees who have been displaced by their home country's conflict. For a year, Hala and her family have been displaced from their home village in Syria because of violent conflict. After bouncing from village to village, fleeing bombings that seemed to follow them, the family crossed into Turkey six weeks ago. Initially, the family was deported back into Syria, where they lived in camps for internally displaced Syrians. But when the camps were bombed, the family was allowed to cross into Turkey. Hala said, 'The blood of the people who died in Syria, the martyrs, is our sad song, but nobody is listening.' (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Turkey faces a refugee crisis

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