Is Perry Hunting for an Endorsement?

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) & Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) hunting in Iowa

President Obama golfs, and presidential hopeful Rick Perry hunts. This weekend, the Texas governor is arguably hunting for what could be a big endorsement in Iowa.

Perry spent part of Saturday hunting pheasants with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, at a 900-acre preserve in Merrill, Iowa.

Perry described Saturday's outing as part of his "long long love affair" with guns. He called hunting with your family a "great American tradition" and reminisced about teaching his son and daughter the safety and respect of guns. Perry told reporters ahead of the hunt that he wished his kids were with him hunting.

Perry's hunting partner will be one to watch.

King is running in Iowa's newly re-drawn 4th District. He's going up against the former first lady of Iowa, Democrat Christie Vilsack, in what is shaping up to be an expensive battle. The Federal Elections Commission reports that nearly $1.4 million has been contributed to the Vilsack and King campaigns already.

King's congressional best friend and fellow Tea Partier, Michele Bachmann, also a presidential hopeful, is still very popular in Iowa and could help bring in money for King's re-election bid. But the question is: will that require an endorsement?

For what it's worth, King hasn't made up his mind on who he will support. King says he's "conflicted" because he "has so much respect for all of the candidates."

Ahead of Saturday's hunt, King told reporters he had a good in-depth conversation with Perry a few weeks ago, but he still hasn't made up his mind.

Like all Iowans, King wants to see all the candidates spend time in his state engaging Iowa activists.

King will hunt with presidential contender Rick Santorum tomorrow. The former Pennsylvania senator has spent more time in Iowa during this campaign than any other candidate. According to the Des Moines Register, Santorum has spent 61 days in Iowa this election. The paper says Perry has only spent 10 days in the Hawkeye State so far.