Governor Perry Indictment Drowning Out Race To Replace Him
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The indictment, booking and mugshot of Texas governor Rick Perry has taken on a life of its own, being placed onto t-shirts referencing his legal battle, and his likely second run for the White House in 2016.
Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson says, "He's thrilled to have all this attention."
Jillson said Governor Perry has done such a great job dealing with the charges politically, that he's drowning out those running to replace him. "Yeah, you hear very little about the governor's race."
According to Jillson, the attention on Perry hurts Democrat Wendy Davis' chances against Republican Greg Abbott. "It's very good for Greg Abbott because he's up by 12-13-14 points on Wendy Davis and he has two to three times as much money as she does to close out this race in the final weeks."
Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Wade Emmert agrees. "He's winning, he's winning by big margins, he's got momentum he just needs to stay the course. It's Wendy Davis who's desperately trying to change the narrative and she's just not getting that opportunity when media is focused on Governor Perry."
Democratic State Representative Roberto Alonzo says while that may be true for now, the Davis campaign is focusing on getting out the vote in November.
Alonzo said, "You have to re-direct at your efforts, what our campaign, what the Wendy Davis campaign is doing is going out and being in the community, in McKinney, Plano, South Dallas, Oak Cliff, Fort Worth."
But Jillson beleives Davis is missing an opportunity. "Why she hasn't been more full-throated attacking Governor Perry and what she would call a culture of corruption in Republican-led Texas politics is a bit of a puzzle."
Typically, after Labor Day, the Governor's race would start receiving more media attention. But Jillson says he doesn't see that happening this year because he expects the media will continue focusing on Governor Perry's criminal case.
Follow Jack on Twitter: @cbs11jack
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