Gay sheriff Paul Babeu drops out of Romney campaign

AN ARIZONA sheriff whose aggressive stance on immigration had made him the darling of the Republican party was forced to announce on Saturday that he had had a homosexual affair with a Mexican immigrant named only as 'Jose’. The revelation came after he was accused by a local paper of threatening to have Jose deported back to Mexico if he spilled the beans about their relationship.

As a result, Sheriff Paul Babeu has withdrawn from supporting Mitt Romney’s White House campaign while he fights to defend his reputation.

"I called the Romney campaign, and I told him I'm going to step away from the campaign," Babeu told the press. A spokesman for Romney said: "Sheriff Babeu has stepped down from his volunteer position with the campaign so he can focus on the allegations against him. We support his decision."

Babeu, the sheriff of Pinal County, had been co-chair of the Mitt Romney For President campaign in Arizona, where the Republican primary takes place on 28 February.

His current woes began on Friday last week when the Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly paper, claimed that the lawman had threatened Jose with deportation after the Mexican refused to sign an agreement that he would not reveal the pair's relationship. Babeu admitted he was gay but denied the deportation threat.

The sheriff, who said on Saturday that it was "almost a relief" to have his sexual orientation revealed, claimed that Jose, who worked on his political campaign, had hacked into his website. Babeu's lawyer then demanded that the former lover hand over all of the passwords to the police chief's websites and social media accounts.

The 43-year-old Babeu, who is still hoping to run for Arizona state congress in November this year, first came to national prominence when he appeared in Republican presidential contender John McCain's political advertisements in 2008. His hardline stance on illegal immigration, a big issue in a state that borders Mexico, made him a pin-up of the right. ·