Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said Monday he will not run for reelection in 2014 and left open the possibility of making a second run for president. 
 
 Citing Ecclesiastes, the 63-year-old and Texas’s longest-serving governor said he would leave office at the end of this term and decide what to do next. 
 
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 “The time has come to pass on the mantle of leadership. Today, I am announcing I will not seek reelection as governor of Texas,” said Perry, speaking before supporters at a Caterpillar dealership in San Antonio. “I will spend the next 18 months working to create more jobs, opportunity and innovation. I will actively lead this great state. I’ll also pray and reflect and work to determine my own future path.” 
 
 (PHOTOS: Rick Perry's career) 
 
 “Any future considerations, I will announce in due time and I will arrive at that decision appropriately,” said Perry, who spent much of the event highlighting his record on the state economy, budget and job creation. 
 
 Perry’s decision clears the way for state Attorney General Greg Abbott to run for governor. The Republican is considered the likely frontrunner in Perry’s absence and has been laying groundwork for a campaign. 
 
 Abbott “will make his intentions clear in the coming weeks,” campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch told POLITICO. He said Abbott has no campaign events planned for this week, but did note Abbott has a meet-and-greet scheduled with supporters in San Antonio on July 14. 
 
 Abbott’s war chest dwarfed Perry’s at last count. Abbott had about $18 million on hand at the end of last year, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings. Perry had about $6 million. Observers in Austin took that as one sign that Perry was likely on his way out. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: 5 things to know about Texas Gov. Rick Perry) 
 
 A recent poll showed Texas voters did not look favorably on another gubernatorial run for Perry. Sixty percent said he should not run for reelection, according to Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. Thirty percent said he should. 
 
 But in hypothetical matchups with Abbott and several of the state’s better-known Democrats – including state Sen. Wendy Davis and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro – Perry still led, the poll showed. 
 
 Any Democratic gubernatorial candidate would face an uphill fight in a state that has not elected a statewide Democrat since 1994. 
 
 Perry took office in 2000 after then-Gov. George W. Bush was elected president. He won three subsequent elections, most recently beating then-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the 2010 gubernatorial primary and Democrat Bill White in the general election. 
 
 In August 2011, Perry joined the Republican presidential primary race. He famously stumbled in a debate by forgetting one of the federal departments he proposed eliminating. He dropped out in January 2012. 
 
 On Sunday, he talked at more length about a possible second run for president. 
 
 “Well, certainly, that’s an option out there, but again, we got a lot of work to do in this building right behind me [the Texas Capitol] over the course of the next couple of weeks that have my focus substantially more than even 2014 or 2016,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” ||||| 4 years ago 
 
 San Antonio, TX (CNN) - Rick Perry may be giving up what he called "the greatest job in modern politics." But he's not leaving the Texas-sized political stage that launched his last run for the White House anytime soon. 
 
 After an event Monday in San Antonio where he announced he will not be seeking a fourth term as Texas governor, Perry was asked what he plans on doing with the time off he has coming. 
 
 
 
 "No time off man. What are you talking about? You weren't paying attention in there," Perry told CNN. 
 
 During a 15-minute speech thanking his family and supporters, Perry vowed to stay busy around the Texas state house. He repeatedly referred to the fight over abortion rights currently consuming the capitol in Austin. 
 
 But the Texas governor offered few clues about his political future, despite billing Monday's announcement as an unveiling of "exciting" plans. 
 
 Perry seemed prepared to announce only that he would "pray and reflect and work to determine" what comes next. 
 
 "Any future considerations I will announce in due time and I will arrive at that decision appropriately," Perry told the crowd. 
 
 Perry: 2016 ‘certainly an option’ 
 
 Perry's reluctance or unwillingness to reveal any upcoming plans stunned some in the San Antonio crowd. 
 
 "Not making future announcement. Wow," Matt Mackowiak, an Austin-based Republican strategist tweeted from the event. 
 
 Still, the campaign-style video that played on the jumbo screen before Perry's remarks left no doubt the Texas Governor and his team believe they still have a story to tell. 
 
 Touting the state's robust job growth over glossy film images of the stark Texan landscape and people, Perry brags in a long Lone Star drawl, "Texas is not merely strong but exceptional." 
 
 "It's obviously on his mind," said one former Perry staffer at the San Antonio event, referring to the possibility of another run for the White House. 
 
 "The sky's the limit," said another Perry loyalist, before conceding some Republicans would have to get over other "remembrances." 
 
 That was a reference to the near implosion of Perry's last campaign during his disastrous November 2011 GOP debate in Michigan. The Texas Governor famously forgot the third of three departments of the federal government he would eliminate as president. "Oops," Perry finally said, after failing to jog his memory in an excruciating and unforgettable television moment. 
 
 After that night, Perry pressed on only to stumble through the early primary and caucus states before bowing out in South Carolina. 
 
 The Texas governor has tried at times to explain his dismal 2012 performance. He has lamented his late entry into the race. 
 
 Still, Perry barreled into the 2012 race as an instant threat to eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney's front-runner status. Now, as governor for the next 18 months, Perry would still have access to a potent donor base. 
 
 Perry acknowledged he is keeping an eye on 2016 in an interview on Fox News Sunday. "Certainly, that's an option out there," Perry told Fox News. 
 
 In deciding against a fourth bid for governor, Perry has now paved the way for Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott to run for and likely win the state's Republican gubernatorial nomination. State Senator Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, who last month filibustered a bill to restrict abortion rights in Texas, is frequently mentioned as a potential Democratic contender. 
 
 Several GOP strategists in the room at Perry's San Antonio event expect Abbott to make a formal announcement as soon as this weekend. Perry's decision to omit specific mentions about any future plans may have been out of courtesy to Abbott. 
 
 There were other notable faces in the crowd. Lee Majors, the star of the 70's era action show, "The Six Million Dollar Man," was also in attendance. 
 
 The sight of the actor who played the fictional astronaut, given super human strength after a near-death experience, invited some observers to wonder whether the same can be done for Perry's political career. 
 
 It's Perry's life that has been the stuff of Hollywood. Raised in the tiny town of Paint Creek, Perry rose to become the state's longest-serving governor. He assumed the governorship in December 2000, when George W. Bush stepped down to become president. Perry was elected to full four-year terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010. 
 
 "It's been an improbable journey," Perry told the crowd. ||||| Rick Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history who famously muttered "oops" after forgetting during a 2011 presidential debate the third of three federal departments he'd pledged to close, announced Monday he won't seek re-election next year to a fourth full term. 
 
 FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2003, file photo Texas Gov. Rick Perry, with his wife Anita, walks under the Ross Volunteers saber arch during Perry's inauguration in Austin, Texas. Perry announced Monday, July... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, makes a campaign stop at the Iowa 80 Group in Walcott, Iowa. Perry announced Monday, July 8, 2013, that... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this March 13, 2000 file photo, Texas Lt. Gov. Rick Perry, right, shares a laugh with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, during a news conference in Austin, Texas. Perry announced Monday, July... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry speak during a Republican presidential debate in Las... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this April 8, 2004 file photo, Texas Gov. Rick Perry makes a face and flexes his muscles as he talks with students at Fox Tech High School following the announcement of his school finance proposal... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speak during a Republican Presidential Debate at Oakland University in Auburn... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2011 file photo, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at The Response, a call to prayer for a nation in crisis, in Houston. Perry attended the daylong prayer rally despite criticism that... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2000, file photo newly-sworn-in Governor of Texas Rick Perry acknowledges applause in the Senate Chamber of the Texas Capitol where he took the oath of office in the company of... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this June 27, 2013 file photo, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks in Grapevine, Texas. Perry announced Monday, July 8, 2013, that he would not seek re-election as Texas governor next year. (AP Photo/Tony... (Associated Press) 
 
 A staunch Christian conservative, proven job-creator and fierce defender of states' rights, Perry has been in office nearly 13 years, making him the nation's longest-sitting current governor. 
 
 The 63-year-old ruled out another try for the White House in 2016, but Perry's decision not to run again for his current post likely clears the way for longtime Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to make a serious run at the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the March primary. 
 
 Perry had initially promised to divulge his future plans by July 1 but was forced to push that back following a rare political victory by state Democrats _ a filibuster of abortion restrictions during the first 30-day special legislative session. 
 
 He called 30 more days of work to finish the job and suggested that would further delay his announcement, but then he distributed an email to a small group of friends and supporters last week promising he'd reveal "exciting future plans" Monday in San Antonio. The Caterpillar dealership he announced his plans at is the same place he announced his re-election bid for a third term in 2009. 
 
 Perry had never lost an election during his 27-year political career and became a near-instant front-runner when he strapped on his signature cowboy boots and strode into the crowded race for the GOP presidential nomination in August 2011. A ferocious fundraiser who was buoyed by both tea party activists and mainstream Republicans, Perry had presided over a Texas economy that was booming and had such TV anchorman good looks he was dubbed by some "governor good hair." 
 
 But his presidential run flamed out spectacularly, culminating in a debate where Perry remembered that he'd pledged to shutter the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Education but forgot the other one, the Department of Energy. Quipped late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon: "It turns out George Bush was actually the smart Texas governor." 
 
 Perry first endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the race then turned his support behind the eventual nominee, Mitt Romney. 
 
 It was a long way to fall for Perry, considered the most powerful Texas governor since the Civil War. The governorship had traditionally been a weak one, with the lieutenant governor charged with overseeing the Legislature. 
 
 Perry set the tone for his tenure in June 2001, however, vetoing more than 80 bills in what became known in Austin as the "Father's Day Massacre." Since then, he has vetoed scores of other would-be laws, including a $35 billion public education budget and a ban on executing mentally disabled inmates. 
 
 But most of Perry's power has come from his sheer longevity, remaining in office long enough to tap loyalists _ and sometimes even his top donors _ to every major appointed post statewide. 
 
 His tendency to shoot from the hip has occasionally caused problems. Ending a television interview in 2005, Perry smirked at the camera and signed off: "Adios, mofo." He claimed he didn't know he was still on the air, but it became a kind of Texas catchphrase. 
 
 Four years later, Perry hinted the state might want to secede from the U.S. While jogging in a rural corner of Austin in 2010, meanwhile, he somehow produced a laser-sighted pistol from his running shorts and shot dead a coyote he said was menacing his daughter's dog. 
 
 Just last month, Perry had a notable dust-up with state Sen. Wendy Davis, who led the abortion filibuster and is considered the likely front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination should she run. 
 
 Perry claimed Davis should have understood the value of each human life because of her history as a former teenage mother who went on to graduate from Harvard Law School. Davis shot back that Perry's statement "tarnishes the high office he holds." 
 
 Perry won a seat in the Texas Legislature as a Democrat in 1984, when Texas was still reliably blue. As the state turned deeply red, so did Perry, becoming lieutenant governor in 1998 and taking his current post when Bush left for the White House in December 2000. 
 
 Though he has sought to become another Texan in the White House, Perry and Bush actually don't get along very well. Austin insiders trace the bad blood between their respective camps back to 1998 and Bush refusing Perry's request to appoint his attorney brother-in-law to a judgeship. And, in 2011, the Bush family endorsed Romney _ not Perry. 
 
 Still, Perry won re-election as governor in 2002 and 2006, and then trounced U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in what was supposed to be a prolonged and bruising battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010. That year's general election against Democrat Bill White was even easier. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday defended the veto that led a grand jury to indict him on two felony counts of abuse of power, noting that even some Democrats have questioned the move by prosecutors. 
 
 FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, file photo, Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivers a speech to nearly 300 in attendance at the 2014 RedState Gathering, in Fort Worth, Texas. Perry was indicted on Friday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - This Aug. 8, 2014, file photo shows Governor Rick Perry as he speaks at the 2014 Red State Gathering, in Fort Worth, Texas. Perry has been indicted for abuse of power after carrying out a threat... (Associated Press) 
 
 "I stood up for the rule of law in the state of Texas, and if I had to do it again I would make exactly the same decision," Perry, a potential candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, said. 
 
 Already the longest-serving governor in state history, Perry has made it clear that he plans to complete his third and final term in January as planned. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," the governor noted that David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, had called the indictment "sketchy" while Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz had questioned the move. 
 
 "Across the board you're seeing people weigh in and reflecting that this is way outside of the norm. This is not the way that we settle differences, political differences in this country," Perry said. "You don't do it with indictments. We settle our political differences at the ballot box." 
 
 A Travis County grand jury on Friday indicted Perry for carrying out a threat to veto state funds to the local district attorney, an elected Democrat, unless she resigned following her arrest and conviction for drunken driving. That 2013 veto prompted a criminal investigation. 
 
 Perry said he had lost confidence in the prosecutor and had been clear about his intentions to veto the funding. The governor said Sunday that the indictment reflected a larger problem of government agencies not following the rule of law, pointing to the Internal Revenue Service scandal in Washington and concerns about National Security Agency surveillance. 
 
 Several Republicans have come to Perry's defense and the governor has received words of support from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. 
 
 "This is the criminalization of just the legislative function and when you do that you weaken democracy. This is certainly a political attack, and this is very bad precedent," said Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, who appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." 
 
 Perry is the first Texas governor since 1917 to be indicted. The charges came as he has sought to reintroduce himself to Republican leaders and rank-and-file party members eager to win back the White House. Several stumbles during his presidential bid in 2012 led to his early departure from the race. 
 
 Perry's veto cut $7.5 million in funding to the state's ethics watchdog housed in the county district attorney's office. A state judge assigned a special prosecutor to investigate the veto following a complaint filed by a left-leaning watchdog group, which accused Perry of trying to leverage his power to force the resignation of District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. 
 
 That unit of public corruption investigators is based in Austin, a liberal haven in the mostly conservative state. Voters in the county reliably elect a Democrat to serve as district attorney. 
 
 Perry said Saturday he was confident that he would prevail and said those responsible for this "farce of a prosecution" would be held accountable. 
 
 Many Democrats criticized Perry's aggressive reaction to the indictment and accused him of trying to shift the blame. 
 
 Yet state Sen. Wendy Davis, the face of the party in Texas who's running a high-profile campaign for governor, took a more cautious tone Saturday. 
 
 "The charges that were brought down by the grand jury are very, very serious," Davis said, adding that she trusted the justice system to do its job. 
 
 Tensions between Republicans and the public integrity unit have simmered for years. Conservatives have long grumbled that the unit operates through a partisan lens and targets Republicans. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Douglass K. Daniel contributed to this report. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas
– As Rick Perry was waxing poetic over his political future yesterday, he refused to rule out a 2016 run for the White House, calling it "certainly ... an option out there." Today, Texas' longest-serving governor said he "will not seek re-election" in 2014, reports the AP, during a gathering of friends and supporters he called to discuss "exciting future plans." "The time has come to pass on the mantle of leadership," he said, as per CNN; his move opens the door for longtime Texas AG Gregg Abbott. And it does nothing to quell speculation about a run in 2016, notes Politico. "I will spend the next 18 months working to create more jobs, opportunity, and innovation," said Perry. "I will actively lead this great state. I’ll also pray and reflect and work to determine my own future path." The AP has a timeline of Perry's career here.