Perry signs copies of his book. Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters

There were buttons that said "Kiss Me, I'm a Republican" and buttons that averred "I'm the God-Fearing, Gun-Toting, Flag-Waving Conservative the Liberals Warned You About." And of course there were badges declaring loyalty to the candidates who have announced their run for the Republican nomination, such as Michelle Bachmann and Mitt Romney.

But the fastest sellers were for a politician who has not yet announced whether he will join the White House race – the Texas governor, Rick Perry. "Our bestselling button has been the Perry one," said Anne Grout, a Republican from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Referring to the prospect of Perry as presidential candidate and Bachmann as his running mate, she added: "For a while, we had Perry-Bachmann buttons and people really liked that and we sold out."

Perry has said he will announce his decision soon. One member of his campaign team said he was closer than ever to joining the race and was testing the prospects in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. If he does stand, Republicans at the New Orleans conference predicted he would become the frontrunner of a so-far uninspiring field.

Perry, 61, has made Texan political history by being elected governor three times. At a time when the biggest issue in the US is unemployment, Texas is attracting jobs, adding 254,000 in the past year. Over the last two years, Texas has accounted for more than a third of all new jobs in the US.

A former air force pilot, Perry has built up a reputation for tough talking and ruggedness. He jogs with a laser-sighted pistol in his belt and shot a coyote during a run last year. He is a mainstream conservative but one that has successfully courted Christian evangelicals – he declared 6 August a day of prayer and fasting – and the Tea Party movement.

He received the biggest standing ovation at a conference attended by candidates such as Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Ron Paul. At the end of his speech, the audience chanted: "Run, Rick, run." He is better at delivering speeches than Romney, more animated, waving his hands around. He would offer tough fiscal and social conservatism. As president, he would seek to emulate the Texas model, a combination of deficit-cutting, low taxation, light regulation and anti-union. He would abandon Barack Obama's health reforms.

Earlier at the conference, more than 150 people queued up to have Perry sign copies of his book, Fed Up. Tim McGough, 41, a marketing director and former legislator in New Hampshire, was the first in line at the signing, getting there an hour early. "I am impressed with his record in Texas. The Republican party still needs a true leader. I think he will shake it up," he said. "He is telegenic, a handsome guy, articulate and governor of one of the largest economies in the world."

McGough described himself as a conservative moderate, favouring limited government, and if Perry did not stand he would support Romney. But he knows people around Perry and thinks he will go for it. "He will have a huge bump initially and will immediately catapult to the front. He will then settle into a race with Romney. I think it will be close," McGough said.

Supporters applaud Perry's speech. Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters

Perry initially ruled himself out of the race but over the last few weeks has confirmed he is thinking about it. His wife is urging him to run and Dave Carney, a veteran campaign strategist, quit Gingrich's team to join Perry's.

Texas journalists who have long covered Perry say they think he will stand but it is still 50-50, with the governor concerned about whether he can raise the hundreds of millions of dollars needed and whether he has left it too late to develop a campaign organisation.

If he runs, Perry will face questions about his refusal to grant a stay of execution in cases such as that of Cameron Todd Willingham, believed to be innocent. He will also have to deal with a comment he made last year in which he appeared to support the idea of the secession of Texas from the United States.

Trish Fleming, 41, who works in advertising in Houston, Texas, was second in line at the Perry book signing. A Republican who named one of her children George W, she supported Gingrich at first and then Bachmann after seeing her speak at the conference on Friday. But Fleming hopes Perry will stand. "I think he is a game-changer," she said. "The Texas economy is the only one that is booming."