Leo Berman closer to endorsing Rick?

The staunchly anti immigration Republican Leo Berman threw his name in the hat earlier this year and said he would announce a run for governor on July 4. Now he looks like he is getting close to endorsing Rick (link). Excerpt follows...

“When I announced that I was going to run for governor, it was mainly to deal with that illegal alien issue,” he said. “And if I can get it dealt with by him accepting it as governor of Texas and doing it, I’m very happy with that.”

“I didn’t ask him to do a heck of a lot,” Berman added.

He said he requested that Perry issue an order to agency heads that would “ask them to purge their [benefit] rolls of illegal aliens and save millions of dollars … and he said he’d do that.”

Berman also said he asked that Perry accelerate the training of state and local law enforcement officers in how to enforce federal immigration laws.

And he said he asked the governor to have Texas join other states in preparing to challenge federal laws that usurp states’ rights and to personally file a friend of the court brief in an expected Montana challenge to federal firearms regulation of guns made and marketed entirely within that Western state.

“All the votes that I would get running for governor would come from Rick Perry’s side,” Berman said. “He’s far to the right of Kay Bailey Hutchison and so am I.”

Amarillo also had a story on the Berman decision (link). Excerpt follows...

But it should be noted that even though Berman declared his candidacy last year we won't know until early next month whether he is in the race for the long stretch. Berman, best known for his tough stand on illegal immigration, said this week that if Perry endorses four key issues he is pushing for - including two that would help the state crackdown on illegal immigrants - he will withdraw from the race on July 1 and endorse the governor.

Berman's decision could have a huge impact on the race because a recent poll showed Perry and Hutchison running neck and neck. In a three-way race in the Republican primary, Berman could take more votes from the governor than from the senator.

Berman said he would support Hutchison.

"She is not conservative," he said. "Rick Perry is."

Is Debra Medina the next pick off target for Rick? Is it just me or is there a lot more news about Rick and Kay these days... I may need to bring on a coblogger just to keep pace... any takers? Email me at rickvskay@gmail.com.