Before you write off Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett as another one of those fringy state officials diving deep into the birther waters of Hawaii, consider this: He is one of the co-chairs of the Romney campaign in Arizona.

Then again, that honorary position already comes with a few smudge marks. Another of Romney’s co-chairs was Paul Babeu, the virulently anti-immigrant Arizona sheriff who resigned as co-chair in February when he was forced out of the closet by allegations of an affair with … an illegal Mexican immigrant.

One more note about Bennett. Serving as Romney co-chair is a reversal of Bennett’s campaign pledge when he was running in 2010 not to endorse other candidates while secretary of state. It was “not appropriate” for the the state’s chief elections official to make endorsements, Bennett reportedly said at the time. Acknowledging his reversal Monday, Bennett told the East Valley Tribune, “I am allowed like everyone else to have my personal opinions.”

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.