If Lowell Cannaday gets the Republican nomination for sheriff, he should beat incumbent Lupe Valdez handily. So why is Cannaday having such a difficult time getting the nomination?

First, he didn’t win the nomination straight out at the beginning of the month, but was forced into a runoff with former sheriff Jim "Swimming Pool" Bowles. Then, yesterday, the two candidates that didn’t make the runoff endorsed Bowles. Cannaday said he was a "little surprised" by the endorsements, since he has the support of the county GOP bosses. But Cannaday had better stop being surprised if he expects to beat Bowles, who has shown surprising and tremendous strength.

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And why does this make Valdez the luckiest politician in the world? Because, no matter how weak a candidate she is — and she is plenty weak — she can beat Bowles. The latter has even more ethical issues than Valdez does.