Rick Perry called up controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio this weekend, reports the Houston Chronicle:
Gov. Rick Perry phoned Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Saturday, apparently hoping to win the nationally-known immigration law enforcer’s endorsement for President, Arpaio said today.
“He called me. First time I talked to him,” Arpaio said of the conversation. …
Perry said last year that he didn’t think Arizona’s style of illegal immigration enforcement was the right move for Texas, but Arpaio said the Texas executive didn’t just call to talk shop.
“I think he’d like to get my endorsement,” Arpaio said. “I’ve taken some heat from the Justice Department, but I’m elected and I’m doing my job. I’m one guy who knows where the Mexican border is.”
Arpaio also said he’s been in touch with Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann, and the Chronicle characterizes his account of his relationship with Romney as “good.”