Rick Perry’s indictment might be the break Democrats need in Texas

Never say Rick Perry never did anything for Latinos in Texas. In fact, the controversial Republican governor now may have done for Hispanics in the Lone Star State what Noah did for shipbuilding.

Perry’s indictment Friday for allegedly abusing his official powers could not have come at a more needed and opportune time for Democrats scrambling desperately to light a fire under voters, especially Latinos, in the mid-term elections.

SEE ALSO: Gov. Rick Perry sends National Guard to Texas border

“Perry has become a laughable fool in the eyes of many Texans,” says Rene Martinez, the veteran Dallas political activist and one of the state’s most venerable Latino leaders.

Perry, the longest serving governor in Texas, is symbolic of the state’s Republican Party, which Democrats are hoping to topple this year and set up a takeover in the 2016 presidential campaign, which would be historic.

But to do so, the Democratic Party needs an overwhelming turnout from the burgeoning Hispanic voting rolls – and Texas Latinos so far have been underwhelmed by the gubernatorial campaign of Wendy Davis, the rising star political darling of Democrats who finds herself badly trailing GOP nominee Greg Abbott.

A recent poll for CBS and The New York Times, shows Abbott with a 16-point lead over Davis, and even more surprising that only 2 percent of voters haven’t made up their minds for the November general election.

Perhaps the worst news for the Davis campaign is that she holds only a 46-38 lead among Latinos, who have been lukewarm to her candidacy.

Even having a Latina running mate on the Democratic ticket, lieutenant gubernatorial nominee Leticia Van de Putte, doesn’t appear to have helped Wendy Davis much in securing huge Hispanic support – which she needs if she is to have any realistic chance of winning.

In the primary in South Texas, for instance, Davis lost seven of the 14 heavily Hispanic counties along the Rio Grande – some by surprisingly large margins to a candidate who was no match for the popular state senator in name recognition and whose campaign reported zero spending in most counties.

Perry’s arrest a welcome move for Democratic campaign

So, against that backdrop, Rick Perry’s legal troubles for playing hardball politics have been a welcome elixir for Democrats and Latinos in Texas, especially given his recent dispatch of the state’s national guard to the border at the height of the crisis over the unaccompanied Central American youngsters who have crossed into the U.S. illegally.

“The arrogant and heartless governor of Texas will get his day in court,” says Martinez. “The national guard and all the bluster with funds will not help him. He will need a great defense lawyer to get out of this mess. Oops, no more presidential aspirations.”

That, of course, is the other side of Perry’s indictment. He is reportedly considering running for president in 2016. Whether he does or not, Perry’s popularity in his home state could be critical to keeping Texas’s 38 electoral votes in the Republican ranks.

The GOP has carried Texas in every presidential race since 1980.

So Democratic Latino leaders have not wasted the opportunity to show Perry and the Republican no quarter.

“For the sake of Texas, Governor Perry should resign following his indictment on two criminal felony counts involving abuse of office,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, tweeted even as Perry was preparing to turn himself into authorities Tuesday.

Latino leaders criticize Rick Perry

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa was equally emphatic in his denunciation of Perry.

“Governor Rick Perry has brought dishonor to his office, his family and the state of Texas,” Hinojosa said in a statement. “We call on Governor Perry to immediately step down from office. Texans deserve real leadership, and this is unbecoming of our Governor.”

Perry has been charged with abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. The first charge carries a maximum punishment of five to 99 years in prison, and the second carries a term of up to 10 years.

It may have just been a poor choice of words, but what may Perry’s lawyer Tony Buzbee have been alluding to when he characterized the indictment of the Texas governor as something out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel of some mythical Latin country.

“We settle political differences at the ballot box,” Buzbee told a news conference, “This is nothing more than Banana Republic politics.”

SEE ALSO: Texas dealt a big blow to its Latino students