Joe Arpaio ready and waiting to endorse John McCain
March 4th, 2008, 3:29 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
Mitt Romney (left) and Joe Arpaio
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who previously endorsed former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney for the president, said he now backs fellow Arizonan John McCain.
“My point is he’s the nominee. I’m going to support him,” Arpaio told me.
Arpaio didn’t merely endorse the former governor of Massachusetts, he traveled around the country during the early primary season speaking in support of Romney and Romney’s feelings concerning illegal immigration. Romney never really did offer a clearly defined illegal immigration policy. Instead, he spoke about aspects of other candidates’ policies that didn’t suit him. It’s a moot point now though.
Arpaio said he would give McCain his official endorsement if McCain or his people asked, but to date, they haven’t asked. The only condition to formally endorsing McCain, Arpaio said, is that he be allowed to actively campaign for the presidential candidate. Arpaio said he wants to be more actively involved than just simply lending his name to campaign literature.
When asked I asked the sheriff about the differences between his own and McCain’s stances on immigration, Arpaio shrugged and noted that he and the Arizona senator agreed on enough other issues that he feels comfortable supporting McCain.
