Rick Perry Raises the Stakes in South Carolina

After finishing in fifth place in the Iowa caucus on Tuesday night, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas surprised most pundits on Wednesday when he announced that he was staying in the race. Perry is planning to mostly ignore New Hampshire -- which holds it primary this coming Tuesday -- to focus on South Carolina which hosts its primary on Jan. 21.

In an email sent out to supporters late on Thursday, Perry clearly highlighted his commitment to doing well in the Palmetto State.

Our South Carolina Chairman Katon Dawson had this to say about the race, South Carolina is not going to let Iowa pick the nominee! I couldnt agree more. I plan on winning South Carolina, Perry wrote.

When I got into this race I knew it wasnt going to be easy, but our country is heading in the wrong direction and someone needed to put her back on track, Perry added. Reckless spending by Washington insiders is bankrupting our country and saddling future generations of Americans with unnecessary debt.

Perry hammered his Republican rivals, insisting they backed similar policies to President Barack Obamas.

While my opponents share Barack Obamas love for big-government policies, I have reduced government and balanced six budgets in Texas, Perry maintained. This race is incredibly fluid and lets make no mistake about it: I am the only conservative in the race ... we will win South Carolina and take a giant step toward sending President Obama back to Chicago.