Former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio announced today that he is running for the Senate seat left by Sen. Jeff Flake, who chose not to seek reelection in 2018.
“I have a lot to offer. I’m a big supporter of President Trump,” Arpaio told the Washington Examiner when announcing his candidacy.
“I’m going to have to work hard; you don’t take anything for granted. But I would not being doing this if I thought that I could not win. I’m not here to get my name in the paper, I get that every day, anyway.”
I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again. https://t.co/ANppBdDOtp
— Sheriff Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) January 9, 2018
After 24 years in office as sheriff, Arpaio was defeated in 2016. Last year he was convicted of criminal contempt for defying a court order to stop racially profiling Latino people in his county, according to AZcentral. He reportedly ignored the order and continued to racially profile and single out inmates he suspected of being undocumented. Controversially, he was pardoned by Trump in August before serving any jail time.
Arpaio is expected to run against Republican Representative Martha McSally, as CNN notes, who has been teasing a “special announcement” on Friday. Rounding out the race is Kelli Ward, a conservative state senator who won 40 percent of the vote in the 2016 primary against John McCain. Ward has been funded by the GOP mega-donor Mercer family, as a well as Steve Bannon, though she has distanced herself from Bannon following the controversy surrounding him.
Arpaio is an incredibly controversial figure to be running and may be an opportunity for Arizona Democrats to take the Senate race, requiring a large Latino turnout to oppose him. Arizona Democrats have opposed Arpaio for many years, and his decision to run, as well as his pardon by Trump, will surly help them to spring into fundraising efforts.