Are you a Mitt Romney guy or a Rick Perry guy?

'Are you a Mitt Romney guy or a Rick Perry guy? ' By: Marin Cogan September 26, 2011 11:29 PM EDT Fewer lawmakers are endorsing a presidential candidate this year, but that hasn't stanched the whisper primary on Capitol Hill: "Are you a Rick Perry guy or a Mitt Romney guy?" On the House floor, in the cloakrooms and in private conversations, House Republicans are just as gossipy about the presidential contest as any dedicated primary voter, and how lawmakers are choosing sides tells the larger story of the party's philosophical divide. "I gravitate more toward folks who support Mitt, and we seem to have common interests," noted Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, a freshman Republican from a classic swing district in suburban Las Vegas. "There's no question Perry's more of a fighter and Romney is more of the businessman-type, a little more diplomatic," said Texas GOP Rep. Mike McCaul. "I predict there will be more backers for Perry than Romney in our conference." The Perry versus Romney conversations "are happening," said Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), a Perry guy. "It's about 'Who are you endorsing?' Or 'Who do you like? '"Romney backers like Heck, with some notable exceptions, such as Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake, tend to be from swing states or moderate districts where the primary concern is choosing a candidate who can lure independent voters and beat President Barack Obama. Perry backers represent the movement conservatives – Southerners and tea party sympathizers looking for someone who can ignite the base and translate the 2010 GOP congressional wave into a 2012 presidential victory. "You know it's hard not to periodically talk about it. Everybody has coalesced behind the fact that there are two candidates; the people still on the sidelines, I think, would like to hope that it becomes a one-person race, so they can be for [the nominee], "said California Republican Rep . Darrell Issa, a Romney supporter. "But a lot of people like myself are weighing in because we think they're both good, but there's a better." Romney is leading the Hill endorsement game, with 20 endorsements to Perry's 10. For the past year and a half, the former Massachusetts governor has courted about a dozen lawmakers – both natural allies and skeptics – for bacon and eggs confabs when he's in town in the basement of Tortilla Coast, a Mexican restaurant near the Capitol, to talk politics and policy. Romney also pulled in Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a Capitol Hill insider with deep roots in the House and close ties to both leaders and rank-and-file conservatives, to lead his Hill outreach. He's met one on one with both GOP leaders and rank and file, and his advisers reached out to GOP leadership aides to discuss his job plans and the National Labor Relations Board. And to hear his supporters tell it, lawmakers are rallying behind Romney because they have deep concerns about appearing on the ballot next to a candidate who once called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and questioned its constitutionality. "Increasingly, over the last two weeks or so, members are making a decision about who they want to be on the ticket with. People with a high number of seniors in their districts don't want to make their campaigning very difficult, "said Chaffetz, one of the most conservative members of Team Romney. It's "a strong consideration of lots of people. 'Do I want to defend the [so-called] Ponzi scheme … day after day after day?' "Chaffetz said that lawmakers prefer Romney because he's the" most well vetted "of the candidates. "Mitt won't embarrass anybody," he said. Perry's backers don't share that concern. "To some extent, it is a Ponzi scheme," said McCaul, a Perry backer. "You can criticize him, but he will tell it like it is, from his perspective." Perry's backers on the Hill believe he brings new energy to the presidential field, that he speaks to conservatives who want the House GOP to go bigger in bringing spending cuts to Washington. Rep. Mick Mulvaney perhaps best represents the Perry movement in Congress: a budget wonk from South Carolina and one of the staunchest conservatives in the freshman class – who has voted against nearly every spending deal that leadership has made with Obama. So far, Mulvaney is the only lawmaker on Capitol Hill working as an adviser for the campaign, and he says he's been approached by lawmakers who are interested in helping the candidate on policy. He says he will "start putting out feelers to folks who want to get involved." Mulvaney downplayed the contrast between the candidates' Hill helpers, saying he "won't be the only one" working for Perry on the Hill as the election draws near. "Let's not kid each other; the fact that I'm from South Carolina probably has something to do with this," he said. Meanwhile, Perry hasn't met with congressional lawmakers since he visited their Republican retreat in Baltimore this January, and though he's coming to Washington this week, he doesn't have plans to sit down with members. A spokesperson for the campaign who declined to discuss endorsement strategy said that Perry "has been meeting and will continue to meet with elected leaders across the country to talk about his vision to get America working again." Perry supporters admit their candidate hasn't been as aggressive in his outreach. "Romney might have a little bit better tactics, having met [with lawmakers] earlier, but you've got to keep in mind that you have a bunch of new guys who are looking to be relevant up here, too," said one senior Republican aide with knowledge of the campaign operation. One of the new guys is South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott, who hosted Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain at town hall events in his state this summer. Scott hasn't made an endorsement but said, "Perry is obviously the guy to beat right now in South Carolina. "" I think the big chatter is that Romney has [the] opportunity to position himself, but he doesn't spend much time in South Carolina, so it seems he's not as interested in the state as many would like him to be. " Scott said that Romney "does appear to be a good candidate," but "the closer we get to the race, the less we see of him, the worse his numbers will get." Newt Gingrich may be the luckiest of the GOP's second- tier presidential aspirants. Five House Republicans – three from Gingrich's home state of Georgia and two from Texas – are loyal to him. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones and Michigan freshman Rep. Justin Amash. And Bachmann hasn't received an endorsement from any of her House colleagues. "Their following doesn't really translate to clout in the United States Congress," one House Republican said, stating the obvious. "[House Speaker John] Boehner doesn't turn to Bachmann or Ron Paul for guidance." "A lot of members have a tendency just to hold back and let dust settle," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a supporter of Gingrich. There are "a lot of people who are standing by, you might say." Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is also struggling to find backers on Capitol Hill. His problems were evident as he walked across Constitution Avenue last week to attend the Senate GOP's weekly luncheon. Santorum, seeing someone he recognized, yelled across the street, "Appreciate your help, Jack?" The man yelled back: "I'm helping Newt." Manu Raju contributed to this report.