McCloskey Endorses McNerney

The Associated Press reports that Pete McCloskey has endorsed Jerry McNerney in the CA-11 race against Richard Pombo:

McCloskey, 78, plans to urge Northern California voters who supported him in the state's June primary to vote for Pombo's Democratic opponent, wind engineer Jerry McNerney, in November.

McCloskey won 32 percent of the Republican primary vote June 6 to 62 percent for Pombo.

McNerney is "an honorable man that has not and will not seek to enrich himself and his family through his office," McCloskey said in an interview. […]

McCloskey and McNerney scheduled a press conference for Wednesday in Dublin, Calif., where McCloskey planned to make the endorsement formal.

From Pombo’s quarter came the expected sour grapes:

Throughout the primary, Pombo aides dismissed McCloskey as a Democratic Party tool. They said they weren't surprised by his endorsement of McNerney and that it wouldn't make any difference.

"He was a stalking horse for McNerney all along. Certainly nobody's going to be surprised," said Pombo consultant Wayne Johnson. "We feel very good about the fall race. "

But McNerney's campaign welcomed the development.

"Pete McCloskey almost got a third of the vote, and those are people who are moderate Republicans who are fed up with Richard pombo's corruption and his extreme positions on issues important to Americans," said McNerney's campaign manager, A.J. Carrillo.

It remains to be seen whether McCloskey will actively campaign on behalf of McNerney, but as many others, including McCloskey himself, have pointed out, it seems highly unlikely that those voters who supported McCloskey in June would be eager to rally behind Pombo in the general election. Clearly, Pombo is intent on attempting to minimize the importance of this endorsement, but there's just no good way to spin it when your opponent in the Republican primary endorses the Democrat in the race.

Can Tommy Bananas be far behind?

Tags: CA-11, Jerry McNerney, Pete McCloskey, Richard Pombo