Of course, the local newspaper has NOTHING on the runoffs...

I've just been given a major reason to vote in the almost totally forgotten Republican primary runoffs: a lunatic, hypocritical theocrat who, despite being almost totally unqualified, wants to be on the state supreme court.

Currently locked in a tight runoff in the GOP primary for a six-year term on the Texas Supreme Court, the self-described "patriot and Reagan conservative" came in first in a six-way primary last month. The runoff between Green, who has a law degree but no judicial experience, and Fort Worth family district court judge Debra Lehrmann is next Tuesday.

. . .

Green once punched a political rival on election day 2006, and his four-year tenure as a legislator in the Texas House was marked by controversies like the time he filmed an TV infomercial for a nutritional supplement in his Capitol office (more on both of these episodes below).

Since 2001, Green has been going around the country speaking as a representative of WallBuilders, a group dedicated to education about America's "forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built."

. . .

Green, for his part, has also embraced the Tea Partiers. In a video of a tea party rally featured on his own YouTube channel, Green exhorts the cheering crowd to say that "we are firing the first shots of the second American Revolution right here in Texas."

Green's last stint in public service, as a state representative from Dripping Springs south of Austin, was marked by ethical problems, In one incident, he successfully lobbied the state parole board to release a man who owed $400,000 to a company owned by Green's father, according to the Dallas Morning News. In another, prosecutors looked into his role lobbying the health department on behalf of a dietary supplement firm, Metabolife, that was also represented by Green's law firm.

More coverage here and here.

Now, obviously this person should not be allowed within a mile of being a judge. And since the Republicans hold all the seats on the Supreme Court, it's highly unlikely that the winner of the Republican primary will win.

But...

... if the Democratic candidate has any chance at all, it's only with this lunatic carrying the GOP standard. His primary opponent is, by comparison, quite sane and moderate- and, in a contest that leans Republican at best, probably unstoppable.

So, your advice: should I gamble, cast my vote for the crazy man, and hope the Democrats win in November... or vote for the sane family court judge, knowing that she will almost certainly stomp on the Democrat with cleats come November?