Texas Gov Rick Perry's Team Begins Scoping Out New Hampshire

(By Erin McPike, Real Clear Politics) - Add New Hampshire to the list of early states where Texas Gov. Rick Perry's associates are making calls about how they can acquire some visibility with Republican primary voters ahead of next year's presidential election.

By now, it's well-documented that Perry's people are putting out feelers in Iowa, the first caucus state. And on Wednesday, Kevin Smith of the socially conservative New Hampshire group, Cornerstone Action, announced that Perry will headline the group's annual fundraising dinner on Oct. 28. But it turns out there's even more work going on behind the scenes.

Fran Wendelboe, a former state GOP legislator turned Republican consultant, is also the president of the Belknap County 4-H Fair. She's the person political organizers need to call if they're thinking of having a candidate make an appearance there, or if they want to rent space for a political booth.

And on Tuesday, one of Perry strategist Dave Carney's lieutenants at the firm Norway Hill Associates phoned Wendelboe in search of details for setting up a booth for a possible campaign.