( CNN ) -- She was the one caught driving drunk , but in an odd twist of political fate , he 's now the one who has just been indicted on felony charges . On the face of it , you might think that Rosemary Lehmberg , district attorney for Travis County in Texas , would be out of her job after being caught driving under the influence , haranguing those who took her in , being convicted and serving 20 days in jail . But it 's her bitter political rival Texas Gov . Rick Perry who 's now facing serious charges for how he reacted to what she did . Here are four reasons why Perry -- a possible candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination -- is in more trouble than the district attorney caught driving with a 0.239 blood alcohol level , nearly three times the state 's legal limit . Walking the line . She failed miserably to walk a straight line in a field sobriety test , but he 's accused of crossing a political legal line . Perry joined others calling for Lehmberg to step down after her DWI arrest . But when she refused , he threatened to and then did withhold funding for a program run by Lehmberg -- a powerful Democrat in a heavily Republican state . Watch Lehmberg take the field sobriety test . Some saw his action as strictly political , and an illegal overreach of his powers as governor . He ended up in a police booking room , getting his mug shot and fingerprints taken -- making Rick Perry the first Texas governor in nearly 100 years to face criminal charges . And the two felony counts that charge Perry with abusing his power hit the longest-serving governor in the state 's history right at the moment he 's switching his presidential ambitions into high gear . Talking the talk . In her drunken state , with a blood alcohol level of 0.239 , Lehmberg mouthed off to officers and jailers . Perry let money do the talking . He threatened to use his veto power to cut state funding for a special unit in Lehmberg 's control -- the Office of Public Integrity -- if she did not step down after her conviction . Watch Lehmberg in jail . Lehmberg would not budge , so Perry pulled the $ 3.5 million in annual state funding for the unit , which ironically investigates wrongdoing by public officials across Texas . Perry has the right to veto whatever he likes , but threatening to do so to get something he wanted was illegal , according to Texans for Public Justice , a liberal group that filed the complaint against Perry . Location , location , location . A blueberry in a bowl of tomato soup . That 's what Perry calls Travis County , where Democrats like Lehmberg reign . The county , home of the state capital , Austin , is a spot of blue in an overwhelmingly red state . In 2012 , Travis County voted for President Obama while the rest of the state overwhelmingly went for Mitt Romney . The members of the grand jury that approved the indictment were selected from that Democratic county , but those involved in the legal case say their decision had nothing to do with politics . CNN spoke to several grand jurors , and they said politics never entered their secret discussions . One did add though that the decision to indict the governor was not unanimous . They said the special prosecutor , Mike McCrum , was fair and demonstrated how the governor violated the law . Read the indictment . The law . Lehmberg pleaded guilty to DWI , served nearly three weeks in jail , went to rehab and then went back to her job as the district attorney , able to ignore the calls for her to step down . The felony charges against Perry are much more serious and would not allow him such latitude were he to be found guilty . He faces one count of abuse of official capacity and one count of coercion of a public servant , with the maximum sentence for both at more than 100 years in prison . Perry calls the charges an `` injustice . '' `` The actions I took were not only lawful and legal but right , '' he told reporters at the Travis County Court , where he appeared voluntarily to have his mugshot and fingerprints taken . Indeed , legal analysts , including CNN 's Jeffrey Toobin , a former federal prosecutor , question the indictment . `` The governor has the power to veto this money , '' Toobin said . `` So , the question is , how can it be a crime to threaten to use a power that is entirely within the powers of your office ? '' Perry is now in his last few months in office after his 14 years in the governor 's mansion . Speculation that he 's eyeing the White House continues , but he may well have to solve this court case first . 5 reasons Gov . Perry is underrated . Rick Perry takes back tweet .
Texas Gov . Rick Perry, who is running for the Republican nomination to be president of the United States in 2012 and has been a leading contender since he announced his candidacy on June 1, said that if elected president, he Charges stem from his threat to cut program run by a local DA unless she resigned . Both Perry and the DA got mug shots -- hers for drunk driving charge . But while she 's back at work , he has to defend himself against felony charges .