Jennifer Jacobs

Des Moines Register

ALGONA, Ia. - An animated Rick Perry yanked the microphone from the podium and paced the stage, leaning into his words as told Iowans Saturdaynight that he knows how to start getting the country "back on track."

A guy who in the past didn't seem like he could run for a governor's office much less the Oval Office seemed like a different candidate, Iowans said, after Perry talked about "prosperity and hope and freedom," as well as a favorite topic of his lately, immigration reform.

"We know how to secure the border," said Perry, the governor of Texas, his voice rising from quiet solemnity to a loud command, "and if the federal government will not do its duty, then I will suggest to you that the state of Texas will."

That remark brought the audience of about 200 of northwest Iowa Republicans to their feet for an extended standing ovation. And the room was buzzing after the 16-minute speech at the dinner, a fundraiser for nine county Republican parties.

"He seems to have matured or changed a little bit. He seemed to have more fire, a lot more motivation," said Bud Douglas, a 71-year-old loan agent and the chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Party, told The Des Moines Register.

Just two days after Chris Christie got a rock star reaction from Iowans and reporters who swarmed the New Jersey governor on his debut trip to the presidential testing grounds of Iowa, Perry seemed to be feeling some competitive fire.

"This was definitely the most energized I've seen him," state Auditor Mary Mosiman told the Register. " 'Spot on' is what I was just saying to a table mate of mine. He was very energized, very upbeat, very motivated."

In the 2012 presidential race, Perry got his butt kicked, as he put it. After some verbal stumbles, including his cringe-worthy "oops" moment on a nationally-televised debate stage, he finished in fifth place in the Iowa caucuses with 10% of the vote and quit the race two weeks later.

During his first Iowa visit of the 2016 presidential cycle, in November 2013, Perry looked down at notes almost constantly during a short, deadpan speech to a Polk County Republicans dinner.

This time, on his fourth visit to Iowa in the last eight months, Perry used no notes. He rocked on his feet, gestured and at times crouched a bit as he dug in to emphasize a point.

"I know that the greatest and best years are in front of us and I know how to start us back on the track of an America that can be a beacon that's on top of a hill that's bright and that's bringing people into prosperity and hope and freedom.

"We've helped put that bluebin, that bluepin, blueprint into place." He paused and looked around with a grin. "That's a mouthful."

But Perry, who has been governor of the second-largest state in the country since 2000, quickly rolled on: "We've put that blueprint into place over the course of the last 12 years in the state of Texas."

There are signs Perry has rehabilitated himself to a certain extent since his 2012 presidential bid flopped. He has a relatively high favorability rating, with Iowa's most loyal GOP voters, a recent Register Iowa Poll found.

The Republicans with the highest favorability ratings were Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (56%), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (50%), then Perry (49%), according to the May 27-30 survey of 400 likely primarygoers. Next were Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky (46%), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (44%), Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida (43%), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (42%), former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (41 %), Sen. Ted Cruz (38%), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (37%) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (35%).

Since the May survey, Rubio, Jindal, Santorum, Paul and Christie has been in Iowa, working on bolstering their image while campaigning for Iowa candidates and giving speeches.

Perry worked the crowd tonight, circulating through the whole room before the program began.

Bloomberg News national political reporter John McCormick noted that after Perry stepped off the stage, he made a beeline for the Des Moines Register's chief politics reporter. "I think he's running,' McCormick tweeted.

Perry speaks in the Clear Lake area tomorrow.

And he will be back in Iowa next month. He's one of five potential White House aspirants - along with Cruz, Jindal, Huckabee and Santorum - who will will be in Ames on Aug. 9 for a summit of Christian conservatives.

The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for February 2016.