Politicians are very careful about who and how they endorse, and how and who they don’t. But apparently incumbent State Rep. Jerry Madden of Plano has been playing fast and loose with his endorsement list… And Attorney General Greg Abbott is rightly unamused.
In a tight political primary fight centered on criminal justice issues, Mr. Madden has claimed he has the support of Attorney General Abbott, a popular Republican. The problem is, the A.G. says he hasn’t endorsed Madden.
Now, that alone should raise eyebrows. According to the Dallas Morning News, Madden claims he thought he had the endorsement.
The AG’s people told the paper, “Attorney General Abbott never gave his word – or any other indication – that he would endorse Jerry Madden in the Republican primary… To the contrary, Madden supporters who sought General Abbott’s endorsement at Madden’s request were repeatedly told that the attorney general had not and would not take a position in that race.”
That’s something of a political smackdown. But, remember, this is a race about criminal justice issues.
But the AG’s folks didn’t end with the smackdown, they gave a one-two punch: “Jerry Madden has consistently taken positions that are at odds with the conservative, law-and-order record General Abbott has earned in his five years as Texas’ chief law enforcement official.”
Challenging Madden is Jon Cole, who wears the mantle of a fiscal conservative and answered our questionnaire with flying marks.
While Madden has long been considered a conservative, his failing 68.7% showing on our scorecard gave us pause, which is why he didn’t get our endorsement. And since the campaign issues wouldn’t be on fiscal policy, like the AG we chose to stay out of the race. And still do.
But if Mr. Cole was looking for an early christmas present, he got it…
