I saw Maldonado in a debate with Peg "Banjo Pickin'" Penard in his race for state senate. She absolutely ate him up in that debate. But he's a pretty boy with the right surname and a squishy voting record, so that's apparently what the doctor ordered. ;-)
I don't doubt that for a minute.
Maldonado is archetypical of one of the "unintended" consequences of term limits: the type of politician I call "a put-up doll," nameless politcians that get stood up for a stint in the legislature to deliver the goods and disappear. Pull the string and the talking points come pouring out. The only thing wrong with Abel is that he's just a little short of RAM.