Perry: Don’t worry about Texas

Texas Gov. Rick Perry doesn’t want Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to visit the Lone Star State over the next two months.

Instead, he’d rather the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates be so confident in Texas votes that they can spend their time and money in real battlegrounds.

“I want us to solidly be in the Romney-Ryan camp where they don’t have to worry about Texas,” Perry told reporters after speaking to the Texas delegation at the Republican National Convention today.

“I’m not the quarterback,” noted the onetime GOP presidential candidate. And “Texas isn’t the home team.”

“Everyone knows how we’re going to vote. We’re not a battleground state,” he added.

Since Texas’ presidential votes aren’t really in doubt, Republicans from the Lone Star State are planning to head to Ohio and Virginia to block-walk on behalf of Romney and Ryan.

Robin Armstrong, the Republican National committeewoman-elect, is seeking to amass at least 60 Texans willing to work alongside the Ohio Victory Campaign to court voters in that state in the final days before the Nov. 6 election.

“Ohio is an extremely important state in this presidential election,” she noted in a written appeal to Texas Republican delegates. “Mitt Romney must win Ohio to win this presidency.”

Some Texas Republicans warned of complacency.

Rex Teter of Pasadena, Texas, noted that even though Texas is generally a red state, Republicans can’t afford to let their guard down, especially for down-ballot races.

The third-time delegate noted that several Republican judges were swept out of office four years ago, after Democrats successfully mobilized their base to vote straight tickets.

Political activism may be pegged to Romney and Ryan, but “It makes a difference from the top of the ballot to the very bottom,” he said.