One friend said Perry is “warming to the idea” of running and is now going through the process of deciding what it would take to launch a candidacy and whether he has the desire to endure a grueling campaign.

Two Texas sources said they believe that Perry would have the backing of his wife Anita, should he decide to run. Unlike Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), whose family’s opposition led him to back away from a candidacy last month, Perry apparently faces no such family dissension…

A Perry friend said the governor has been surprised at how much pressure from outside the state has arrived encouraging him to run, something he had not anticipated, and that too has prompted him to begin a discussion with family and close friends.

Perry has a broad Texas fundraising network and beyond the state’s borders. He has raised prodigious amounts of money for his past three gubernatorial campaigns, but under rules that allow the kind of large contributions that are prohibited in federal elections. Nonetheless, Perry advisers believe he would have little trouble raising enough money to run a credible campaign.