COLUMBIA, S.C. — Texas Gov. Rick Perry has jumped into the 2012 Republican race for president.

He told South Carolina voters in a conference call Saturday that he wants to win his party’s nomination and take on President Barack Obama.

Perry said that “I full well believe I’m going to win.”

Word of his entry into the race came about an hour before a planned speech in Charleston, S.C., where he was kicking off his campaign.

During the call with supporters, Perry criticized Obama on foreign policy and said he would do a better creating jobs. Perry said he would go to Washington to do his duty and not make friends.