Sheriff Babeu might fit right into Congress

Proving that somebody up there really does love columnists, Arizona's second toughest sheriff is apparently pondering another run for Congress.

Only in America can a guy who took a selfie in his underwear be a viable candidate for Congress.

Come to think of it, maybe that's one of his qualifications for Congress?

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was the darling of conservatives in 2010, achieving national prominence when he appeared with Sen. John McCain in the senator's infamous "build the danged fence" ad.

But his reputation (and his resulting congressional bid) took a hit among hardliners in 2012 when his illegal immigrant Mexican lover announced to the world that the sheriff had threatened to have him deported if he went public with their relationship. The guy also posted the sheriff's selfie, adorned only in underpants.

Hypocritical, yes, but also hot. Still, the incident ended Babeu's 2012 campaign for Congress.

Last year, Babeu rebounded, raising the alarm about the supposedly pending arrival of 40 to 60 Central American children to a ranch outside Oracle – children he declared a possible threat to public safety and public health.

Who can forget Babeu at the site of the resulting shameful blockade to Sycamore Canyon Ranch in Oracle, urging calm and parading for the cameras when the children were a no-show.

"We already have our hands full fighting the drug cartels and human smugglers," he said, at the time. "We don't need unaccompanied juveniles from Central American being flown in to Arizona -- compliments of President Obama. Local residents have every right to be upset and to protest."

The guy hadn't been that fired up since his 2012, when five bodies were found inside a burned out SUV in his county and he immediately declared it the work of a drug cartel. Until it was determined that it was the murder-suicide of a Tempe family, that is.

So now comes Babeu, considering another run for Congress in the wake of Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick's decision to challenge McCain.

According to Babeu's campaign director, a poll taken Tuesday shows he looks to be an early frontrunner. An autodialer poll of 687 likely Republican voters in CD1 showed that Babeu led with 17 percent of the support when up against former House Speaker Andy Tobin (10 percent) or Gary Kiehne (8 percent), both of whom ran in 2014.

Meanwhile, 65 percent of the respondents said they were undecided.

Maybe they haven't yet seen the sheriff in his skivvies?