UPDATE: Drew Goesl,  Rep. Mike Ross’ chief of staff, says staff overlooked the congressman’s planned trip to Fort Worth, which he is making on behalf of a personal friend.

“The bottom line is this is an old friend from Congressman Ross’ days from Young Democrats,” Goesl said. “He is just going out of friendship for lunch and coming back the same day.

“It is kind of a personal trip,” Goesl said. “It is of a campaign nature but it also is an old friend.”

When checking into the congressman’s campaign-related travel,  staffers “were not thinking about this,” Goesl said.  “This was not something that in any way we were not trying to disclose.”

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Is Mike Ross afraid of backlash from Razorback fans who dislike all things Texas?

Is he sneaking into the Lone Star State because he heard there was better barbecue there?

Neither of those explanations is likely, which makes it odd that the 4th District congressman’s staff didn’t mention Ross’ scheduled trip to Fort Worth on Friday to campaign for a constable candidate.

After Stephens Media published this article about the congressional delegation’s pre-election plans, a blog item from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Monday noted that Ross, D-Prescott, would be in town for a fundraising luncheon for Tarrant County Constable Sergio DeLeon.

That’s interesting news here, especially after this e-mail exchange from last week:

Stephens Media: “Is your boss appearing for anyone or going anywhere to campaign for someone else between now and Nov. 4?”

Brad Howard, Ross’ press secretary: “I checked in with our campaign person in the District. He said at this time there are no plans. I’ll let you know if something gets scheduled.”

DeLeon, contacted Monday, said the luncheon has been scheduled for about a month.

Ross office’s has not responded yet to explain why information about the Texas trip was not disclosed.

DeLeon said he and Ross are friends from two decades ago, when the two worked together on Democratic causes in Arkansas. DeLeon grew up in Bigelow and attended the University of Central Arkansas.

It’s unlikely Ross would lose political points for attending a fundraiser on behalf of his old friend. So why the secrecy, congressman? Is it really that bad for an Arkansan to help a Texan?