Perry tweet suggests campaign to go on

Rick Perry tweeted a message to supporters Wednesday suggesting he will remain in the Republican presidential race.

"And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State...Here we come South Carolina!!!" Perry tweeted from his account, along with a picture of himself, dressed in workout gear, giving the thumbs-up signal to the camera.

His message comes as Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday she was suspending her campaign.

The tweet is a clear warning not to count Perry out of the race yet, despite his announcement in Iowa Tuesday he was going to Texas to "reasses" his campaign. He was scheduled to be in South Carolina on Wednesday.

NBC News, citing a source, is reporting Perry will stay in the race. Perry's campaign did not respond to The Hill's request for comment.

Perry finished fifth with 10 percent of the vote in Tuesday's Iowa caucus, a disappointing result for the Texas governor who had hoped to see a surge in the state after concentrating his campaign efforts there with a two-week bus tour and dropping millions in advertising over the past month.

Speaking after results were announced Tuesday night, Perry told supporters he planned to return to Texas to reassess his campaign.

"With the voters' decision tonight in Iowa, I have decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus and determine whether or not there is a path forward for myself in this race," he said.

Perry's communications director, Ray Sullivan, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Perry's decision about whether to continue the campaign "could come as early as Thursday."

Another tweet on Wednesday from Perry's son Griffin, reported by the Des Moines Register, indicates the Perry campaign will continue in South Carolina next week.

New Hampshire holds the next nominating contest on Jan. 10. There are two debates scheduled before that event — one on Jan. 7 and one on Jan. 8. Perry had confirmed his participation in both of those events.

South Carolina holds its contest third, on Jan. 21.

Perry's campaign has struggled to regain its status in the polls following a steep drop after his August debut, when he entered the presidential field as a front-runner.

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