Is Rosenthal about to flipflop?

Oh, please! Pretty please!

A day after withdrawing from the District Attorney's race, Chuck Rosenthal said this afternoon he is considering refiling his candidacy.

In his second term, Rosenthal said he had not discussed the matter with Republican leaders. He wouldn't comment beyond that, saying that he is mulling re-entering the race before the deadline expires Friday at 6 p.m.

He also wouldn't comment on whether he supports Assistant District Attorney Kelly Siegler who announced earlier today that she wants his job. Siegler said in her anouncement that she wouldn't have considered running if Rosenthal hadn't dropped out late Wednesday.

Rosenthal has had several changes of heart since a political scandal over intimitate e-mails he sent to his administrative secretary erupted last week. At first, he defiantly vowed to seek re-election despite local Republican leaders' calls for him to step aside. He reversed field late Wednesday by submitting a one-sentence letter to the part chairman requesting his name be taken off the primary ballot. Less than 24 hours later, Rosenthal now says he's not sure what he wants to do.

Boy, there's nothing like thirty years of prosecutorial experience to make a man decisive, is there? That sound you're hearing is that of a thousand Republican teeth being gnashed. More (pre-flipflop) from Houtopia, The County Seat, Miya, and (at long last) Lone Star Times, with a post-flipflop update to boot.

UPDATE: Could this get any more bizarre? Mark Bennett reports:

So it would appear that Chuck did not legally withdraw from the election. And if Chuck didn't legally withdraw from the election, then the filing deadline was not extended beyond yesterday. And if the filing deadline was not extended beyond yesterday, then Kelly Siegler's attempt to be added to the ballot was untimely.

So, for Harris County DA, it'll be Jim Leitner vs. Chuck Rosenthal.

You heard it here first (and, to give credit where due I heard it first from uberlawyer, election-code guru, and, most importantly, my lawyer: Troy McKinney).

Click over to see his reasoning.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 03, 2008 to Election 2008