Senator John McCain's GOP primary opponent, J.D. Hayworth, is using the killing of a prominent Cochise County rancher to question McCain's stance on immigration, despite there being no confirmation that an illegal immigrant had anything to do with the murder.
Robert Krentz was found shot to death on his ranch just before midnight on Saturday.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office isn't saying much about the case other than that an investigation is under way, but that isn't stopping Hayworth from pinning the murder on an unidentified illegal alien.
We're not necessarily saying he's wrong, but it seems like a rush to judgment.
"J.D. Hayworth offers his prayers and condolences to the wife, family, and friends of Cochise County rancher Rob Krentz, who was found shot to death after calling into his brother that he was giving aid to an apparent illegal alien he found at one of his cattle watering holes," the Hayworth campaign says in a press release.
We contacted the Hayworth campaign to see where it got the information that Krentz was dealing with an illegal alien on his property, but Hayworth's campaign manager, David Payne, didn't respond to our request.
Hayworth, who has been endorsed by the anti-immigration group Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, goes on to use the murder to take a swing at McCain.
"One of the reasons Hayworth is challenging John McCain, is because of McCain's past sponsorship of legislation that would grant amnesty to illegal aliens," the Hayworth campaign says.
The McCain campaign did not respond to our request for comment.
