Texas Gov. Rick Perry promised Iowa voters that he will have their backs in Washington if they have his tonight in Iowa.

“Let’s work together to get our country back. You have my back tonight in this caucus and I’ll promise you one thing: for the next four years I will have your back in Washington, D.C.,” Perry told caucus-goers in Clive, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines.

In what amounted to a final plea to voters, Perry pledged to work toward a balanced budget amendment and repeated other themes from his campaign.

“This election is not about me. It’s about you. It’s about our children. It’s about our grandchildren and it’s about having a president of the United States who respects the Constitution of this country, who understands that we must pass a balanced- budget amendment to the United States Constitution and do it as soon as we can,” Perry said.

He urged voters to help him achieve his goal of a part-time Congress, something he often repeated while canvassing the state.

“Cut the amount of time that they’re spending in Washington, D.C. Cut their staff. Send them back home. Let them work a job like you do, living like their constituency under the laws that they pass,” declared Perry.

“We can get our country back on track. We can have this country energy independent. We can send a message to the world again that America is strong economically and if she is strong economically, she is going to be militarily, and the rest of the world is going to respect us.”

Perry pledged to appoint people who will work with him to get rid of government regulations that are “killing jobs” and to support a pro-life agenda.

“I will defend life every day in those appointments to the United States Supreme Court,” he said.