NEW ORLEANS — Gov. Ricy Perry of Texas, the latest Republican to muse openly about exploring a Republican presidential candidacy, drew booming applause here on Saturday for not only assailing President Obama but also lecturing some members of his own party on the importance of socially conservative principles.
“It saddens me, sometimes, when my fellow Republicans duck and cover in the face of pressure from the left,” Mr. Perry said, urging activists not to separate economic and social priorities. “We need to redouble our efforts to elect more conservative Republicans.”
In an appearance at the Republican Leadership Conference, which served as something of a debut for Mr. Perry’s presidential ambitions, hundreds of delegates chanted, “Run, Rick, run!” He smiled, waved and basked in the enthusiasm but did not say whether he would answer their call to join the party’s unsettled field of presidential candidates.
Mr. Perry, who succeeded George W. Bush as governor and was elected to a third term last year, had long maintained that he had no interest in running for president. But in recent weeks, he has signaled that he is reconsidering and trying to determine if there is still time to piece together a credible candidacy.
He has sent his strategists to begin gauging the level of political support that would exist in early-voting states, along with financial support across the country, if he decided to jump into the race. His decision is still likely to be a few weeks away, his advisers said, adding that he realizes that time is running short to build an operation in Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond.
His afternoon speech in New Orleans, a finale to a three-day session that featured a handful of presidential candidates and party leaders, underscored the interest that is growing around Mr. Perry’s potential presidential run. He promoted his record of creating jobs in Texas, which he said has one of the strongest state economies in the nation.
His scathing broadside against the Obama administration, which he called “a mix of arrogance and audacity that is an affront to every freedom-loving American,” is precisely the message that many Republican activists say is missing from the field of candidates. “Americans voted for hope and got nothing more than greater economic misery,” he said.
His campaign pitch, should he decide to run, would be rooted in an equal measure of inspiring economic growth and preserving social values. He did not mention that Texas ranks near the bottom on several measures, including among the lowest in education funding per student and spending on the environment. But he sought to highlight legislative accomplishments like requiring voters to have ID cards.
“Our loudest opponents on the left are never going to like us, so let’s quit trying to curry favor with them,” Mr. Perry said.
“The fact is, we may be out of time and this may not be able to work. We don’t know,” David Carney, his longtime political strategist, said in an interview. “It’s 50-50. There’s nothing contrived about this.”