Perry pledges 2.5M jobs in first TV ad

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s first foray into paid airtime for his presidential bid included few frills, but a major campaign promise: at least 2.5 million new jobs.

The television ad that started airing in Iowa on Wednesday was Perry’s first of the campaign, and offered a straightforward reintroduction of the candidate, with Perry talking directly to the camera and highlighting his record as governor.

{mosads}”In Texas, we’ve created more than 1 million more jobs, while the rest of the nation lost over 2 million,” Perry says in the ad.

Perry highlights his intentions to open up domestic resources for oil-and-gas exploration and eliminate regulations put in place under President Obama.

“That’ll create jobs and reduce our reliance on oil and countries that hate America,” he says.

Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan said the ad “underscores Rick Perry’s commitment to sparking millions of new jobs and his record as America’s jobs governor.”

Meanwhile, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign immediately called the ad an attempt to “prop up his sinking campaign” and distract voters from Perry’s views on immigration and Social Security.

“Today’s campaign ad doesn’t tell the whole story, failing to mention that unemployment in Texas has doubled on Perry’s watch and more than a million workers in his state are out of a job,” said Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho in a statement.

Perry’s Iowa push comes as part of a multi-pronged effort to reintroduce himself to voters and reassert himself in the race, especially against Romney, who has stayed at the head of the pack even as other candidates, like Perry, have gone up and down in the polls.

It is crucial to Perry’s strategy that he perform well in Iowa, where the first-in-the-nation caucuses will take place in just over two months’ time. Adding to the pressure for a strong showing in Iowa is that Perry is not expected to do well in New Hampshire, which holds the nation’s first primary election one week after Iowa’s caucuses.

On Tuesday, Perry released his new economic plan, a sweeping overhaul of the tax, regulatory and entitlement systems that would create a 20 percent flat tax option for taxpayers.

The Texas governor has also amassed a hefty sum to sink into ads and other efforts in early states like Iowa. Perry raised the most of any of the candidates in the third quarter of the year, bringing in $17.2 million, which leaves him with $15 million in the bank.

—This story was updated at 11:25 a.m.