Speaking at a major Republican event Tuesday in Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum met for about 20 minutes in private earlier in the day.
Arpaio, the tough talking sheriff who’s currently the target of federal criminal and civil investigations, already endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry for the Republican nomination for president. But after Perry dropped out of the race last month, other candidates have been angling for the sheriff’s endorsement.
Santorum and Arpaio both spoke at the Maricopa County Republican Party Lincoln Day Lunch in Phoenix, but the sheriff said they also took the opportunity to talk privately.
Here’s a rush transcript from Arpaio’s speech, which was broadcast on C-SPAN:
I had the pleasure of meeting all of the candidates running for office in private. I just met senators santorum for 20 minutes and private and had a nice talk. One thing that impressed me with him is he is going at it from grassroots people. He understands that people are the bosses. I take that very serious also. It is the peoelect you, and it’s great to have the people behind you. That is what keeps me going.
