Which Former Governor and '12 Candidate Was the Most Successful Job Creator?

National Review Online has released an analysis based on seasonally adjusted employment data from the Bureau of Labor which shows former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson to have been the most successful job creator of the former Governors now in the 2012 GOP field.  Gov. Johnson had an 11.6 percent job-growth rate from taking office  in 1995 to the end of his term-limited tenure in 2003.

While Gov. Johnson was the only Governor now primary candidate to have served the majority of his tenure in the 1990s economy, Gov. Johnson's growth rate trumps the next closest candidate, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, by 5.7 percent. Mitt Romney was only able to raise the job-growth rate 1.6% as Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty a meager 0.5 percent from 2003 to 2011.

Onlookers cheering"Run Rick, Run" during Rick Perry's speech at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans Saturday must have gotten the report early. As Governor of Texas from  January 2001 to April 2011, the possible 2012 candidate lead the Lone Star state to an overall job-growth rate of 12.5 percent. Gov. Perry has recently planned an August trip to South Carolina, one of the three early primary states.