Governor Perry, leaves campaign and returns to Texans as fire spreads.
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VIDEO: CBS
(CBS News) Texas Gov. Rick Perry said on CBS' "The Early Show" Tuesday that he doesn't know whether he will participate in the first Republican debate since his entry for the party's nomination for president as his state continues to battle persistent wildfires. Perry left the campaign trail Monday and returned to Texas for the latest outbreak of blazes, which have destroyed nearly 500 homes and caused the evacuations of many residents. "No containment" of Texas wildfire Speaking to "Early Show" anchors Erica Hill and Chris Wragge from the state capital of Austin, Perry wouldn't say whether he'd attend the Republican debate scheduled for Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library in Simi Valley, Calif. "I don't know," Perry told Wragge. "That's a fluid situation at the moment, so again I go back to we're going to be taking care of the folks here. I got a great team of people to work with. That's one of the things I've been blessed with for 10 years." Perry announced his entrance into the race on the day of last month's Iowa Straw Poll. The Reagan library debate was to be his first time answering questions alongside other high-profile candidates such as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Perry wouldn't talk about anything related to politics and specifically wouldn't respond to a question about an assessment by Bachmann's outgoing campaign manager that Perry shares frontrunner status with Romney. MORE:
