Rick Perry

It was Democratic District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg of Travis County, Texas who was caught driving drunk, but Perry’s subsequent actions attempting to force her resignation earned him the indictment of two felonies: abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. Perry’s lawyers maintain that the governor was working within the rights of his office, but if found guilty, he could face up to 110 years of jail time. Even more damaging has been the toll on his reputation – as polls show, Perry is hardly holding onto his single digit standing.

The case is not over, the race is young, and Perry certainly wouldn’t be the first presidential nominee to have a scandal nipping at their heels. As CNN’s Errol Louis said:

“It may not be much comfort to his supporters, but from the standpoint of presidential politics, Perry is pretty much at the same candidate he was before the legal papers got served: a long shot with a touch road ahead of him.”

Like others on the list, it may be a road Perry follows in route to a more serious campaign in 2020.

News about Rick Perry is provided below or go to an overview of all the Republican contenders.

Photo by DonkeyHotey. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.