SEND IN THE CLONES:

The leading candidate for mayor of San Antonio admitted on Thursday using his twin brother as a stand-in at a civic event without telling anyone it was not him.

Julian Castro, a 30-year-old city councilman, said brother Joaquin, his identical twin, rode for him in the annual River Parade through downtown San Antonio on Monday. Videos showed Joaquin smiling and waving to the crowd as he floated along the San Antonio River in a barge for city council members. "He was standing in the River Parade because I had to host a neighborhood leaders meeting," said Castro. ...

Castro said his brother, who is in the Texas legislature, was not impersonating him and would not have been mistaken for him. "He's not as good looking," he joked. But a television anchorman moderating the event identified the man on the barge as Julian, as did the River Parade announcer.

(Thanks to San Antonio Election 2005.)