“It’s a side of Rick Perry the national public really hasn’t seen that a lot of us in Texas have,” said Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, who chaired a Homeland Security field hearing on border crisis in Texas last week with Perry as lead witness. “It’s one of his most passionate issues. He’s not coming across strident; he wants to see D.C. work. He’s solution-oriented.”

One Republican operative close to Perry in Texas, who said he could not speak on the record, said that in a setting where Perry feels comfortable with an issue, “people love his ass.”

“He’s a lot smarter than he came across and sometimes comes across. Put him in that setting and he’s a stud at it,” the operative said. “He owns a small room and flops in front of the national camera.”