Texas Gov. Rick Perry tries to amp up his presidential campaign on the Seacoast.

As the longest tenured governor in the history of Texas, Rick Perry passed a bill requiring doctors to conduct a sonogram before performing an abortion. He supported a bill that would have allowed police to question people they stop about their immigration status. He has called Social Security a "failure" and a "Ponzi scheme," and has questioned whether global warming is caused by humans. He once even suggested that Texas might want to secede from the nation.

With those qualifications on his résumé, Perry does not seem much different than many of the other presidential candidates seeking the Republican nomination. He's yet another social and fiscal conservative hoping to oust Barack Obama in 2012.

Perry officially announced his candidacy in South Carolina on Aug. 13 and made his first New Hampshire visit later that day, appearing at the Greenland home of state Rep. Pam Tucker. He returned to the Seacoast on the morning of Aug. 18, shaking hands with customers at Popovers on the Square in Portsmouth before traveling to Dover for a luncheon at Harvey's Bakery and Coffee Shop.

In Portsmouth, Perry and his wife Anita were greeted by about 20 protesters who held signs and burst into chants of "Hands off Social Security and Medicare." One man vociferously shouted "Texas, please secede," while another chanted, "stop your union busting." As Perry sampled a popover inside, an irate man repeatedly yelled "let them eat cake," accusing the governor of coddling his wealthy friends in Texas. An employee asked the man to quiet down and a police officer threatened to remove him.

Perry did a remarkable job of ignoring these verbal attacks, as well as the dense gaggle of reporters, photographers and cameramen who swarmed him at every turn. He made his way through the largely bemused crowd at Popovers, stopping occasionally to chat with customers, pose for pictures and sign autographs. Among those who shook his hand and exchanged a few words was former Portsmouth city councilor Harold Whitehouse, who expects Perry to shake things up in the primary.

"He came on like gangbusters, and I like that," Whitehouse said.

Although he's keeping an eye on all the primary candidates, Whitehouse said he is currently leaning toward Mitt Romney. He's not alone in that regard—early polls have established Romney as the frontrunner in New Hampshire.

Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center, said Romney remains the only viable moderate in the race. Perry, he said, is more aligned with far-right conservatives like Michele Bachman, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich (another conservative, Tim Pawlenty, recently dropped out of the race).

"He'll certainly crowd an already crowded conservative end of the field, but I don't know if that's going to impact the overall winner so much," Smith said.

Perry is known for his evangelical Methodist faith (he hosted a "Nation in Crisis" prayer in Houston earlier this month), which will likely endear him to right-wing religious groups but may not resonate with voters in New Hampshire.

Another potential liability for Perry is that he was George W. Bush's immediate successor as governor, and his thick Texas drawl and swagger may bring the much loathed former president to mind for some voters.

But Perry can tout his experience as governor of a state that, like New Hampshire, has fared comparatively well throughout the economic crisis. He received more than 700 votes in a recent straw poll in Iowa despite not being on the ballot.

Still, Perry could face a tough crowd in New Hampshire, where critics peppered him with questions on Aug. 18. State Rep. Robin Read (D-Portsmouth), a member of the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee, asked the governor if he believes global warming is caused by humans.

"No I don't," Perry replied. "The record's still out on whether or not global warming is man-made or not. I'm skeptical about the science reports. But we've been cleaning up our air in Texas, in fact, more than any other state in the nation."

He went on to say the nation must reduce its dependence on foreign oil by exploring a range of domestic energy sources, including clean coal, nuclear, wind and solar.

Former state senator Martha Fuller Clark asked Perry if he supports cap and trade programs to limit carbon emissions (such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, of which New Hampshire is a participant). Perry said he was "not a fan" of cap and trade, adding that such decisions should be left to the private sector.

There were also supporters present. Former state GOP chair Wayne Semprini, who chaired the New Hampshire branch of Rudy Giuliani's campaign in 2008, escorted Perry from Popovers and walked him toward a waiting SUV.

As media members frantically scampered ahead of the pair to snap a few final photos, a man leaning on the bed of a nearby pickup truck shook his head and commented, "freakin' circus."