Other conservatives have noted that while the Texas governor hasn’t helped himself with his performance in recent debates, the Perry campaign team also has done a poor job on such matters as using surrogates and exploiting Mr. Romney’s vulnerabilities.

“Perry hasn’t reached out to surrogates sufficiently to get them to help him with his errors,” said Randy Brinson, a leader of the Christian Coalition in Alabama.

The paucity of Perry supporters on the campaign stump goes beyond the religious community.

“He has too few surrogates and not just among evangelicals. Where’s [Louisiana Gov. Bobby] Jindal? He endorsed Perry strong and early,” said Dave Battaglia, an evangelical Christian and Indiana/Armstrong Tea Party Patriots executive committee member.