Well, this is awkward.
GOP congressional candidate Bob Stump's mom is defending him from the widow of Republican Congressman Bob Stump over who has the right ro use Bob Stump's name.
Confused?
The Bob Stump running today for the Eighth Congressional District seat has long traded on having the same name as the congressman who represented the West Valley for 26 years, until 2003.
In fact, Stump traded in his given name of "Chris" for his middle name "Robert," shortened to "Bob, " when he first ran for office in 2002 in Bob Stump's old district.
The thinking is many voters don't know this Bob Stump, but they know that Bob Stump, and it's helped this Bob Stump win seats in the Legislature and on the Arizona Corporation Commission.
But now Nancy Stump is telling the Bob Stump who's not her Bob Stump to knock it off.
In a letter emailed to reporters Monday, Bob Stump's widow wrote:
It is in my late husband's memory of doing what's right that compels me to speak out today and prevents from remaining silent any longer. There is an individual who is misleading the voters of the 8th Congressional district by insinuating he is somehow related to my late husband. He is not.
Candidate Stump explained at a recent debate why he started using his middle name in 2002:
"It's been in my family for generations. My dad had Alzheimer's disease and one of the only names he remembered was my name and his. My dad didn't want me to be known as Junior, so that's why they gave me the middle name of Robert. ... It's a name that means a lot to my family. I think the voters know who I am. I've been in office 15 years."
Stump responded Monday with his own letter, from his mom, Jane Stump.
Stump tweeted a statement his mother wrote in response to Nancy, saying her son has the right to use the name.
Jane Stump, who says she is also the widow of a Bob Stump, protested to Nancy Stump:
"There is not, as Mrs. Stump put it, 'only one Bob Stump, and that was my late husband.' My late husband was also named Bob Stump, as was his father. My husband and I had every right to name our son after him. This name has been in our family since at least the mid-19th century."
Bob Stump is running in a 12-candidate special primary in the Eighth Congressional District on Feb. 27, to replace disgraced Republican Congressman Trent Franks.
In a low-turnout election, the high Stump name ID could provide an advantage among Republican primary voters, a majority of whom are 65 or older — and may have cast a vote for the first Bob Stump.
Nancy Stump said the letter would be her final say on the subject:
"There is only one Bob Stump and that was my late husband. Let's be clear: Christopher Robert Stump is not related to my late husband or our family in any way, shape or form. I would ask that he publicly acknowledge that he is not related to our family and stop this charade. The voters deserve to know the truth."
