Pinal County, Arizona —
Pinal County (Arizona) Sheriff Paul Babeu has been forced out of the closet by an ex-lover who claims Babeu threatened him with deportation.
Paul Babeu and Jose credit :: phoenix newtimes
Babeu is running for the Republican nomination for his district's congressional seat-- and up until Saturday, he was running Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign.
But on Saturday, he was forced to confront his ex-lover's accusations.
"I am here to say all these allegations that were in one of these newspapers are absolutely, completely false, except for the issues that refer to me as gay," he said. "Cause that's the truth. I am gay."
Babeu is a first-term sheriff who has gotten a lot of attention for his anti-illegal immigration stance.
The ex-lover, identified a Mexican national named Jose, told local media he and Babeu had been dating for years since meeting on gay.com.
Jose also told the Phoenix New Times he designed Babeu's campaign website, Facebook page and Twitter accounts for free.
Jose also showed the Phoenix New Times photos of himself and Babeu in happier days, along with photos that Babeu had posted on gay dating websites.
