Joe Arpaio is again running for the Sheriff seat that made him famous.

Joe Arpaio during his Senate run. Reuters. 

Joe Arpaio is again running for the same Sheriff seat that made him famous as "America's toughest Sheriff. Reuters. Arpaio was voted out in 2016 after a 24 year run as Sheriff of Maricopa County. He was also convicted of criminal contempt for enforcing immigration laws. He was pardoned by President Trump and also ran for Senate in 2020, losing to Martha McSally, who then lost the election to Krysten Sinema. If Arpaio wins the primary against his former Deputy, Gerard Sheridan, he will have to defeat Democrat Paul Penzone.

My Comment:

I still haven't forgiven Joe Arpaio for his 2018 Senate run. I still believe that he split the vote enough that Martha McSally won and then lost against Krysten Sinema. Had the more right wing voters coalesced around Dr. Kelli Ward instead of being split between her and Arpaio, McSally would have lost and I doubt Sinema would be a Senator right now. 

In this Arpaio reminds me of former and current Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Both Moore and Arpaio were unfairly targeted for their politics and had their reputation destroyed. But in both cases dropping out of politics would have been the right move. Instead they both ran and ended up costing the GOP what would have been safe senate seats. 

As for his Sheriff run, I'm not sure what he is doing. The voters have already decided that they don't want Joe Arpaio anymore. He lost to Paul Penzone and I don't know why he would win against him now. Even President Trump's pardon probably won't help much. The contempt of court charges destroyed his reputation even if it was totally unfair. 

Even more concerning to me is his advanced age. Arpaio is 87, which is extremely old and if he wins he might even die on office. What's the point of voting for someone that won't make it through his term? It makes very little sense for Arpaio to run. 

I sincerely hope that Gerard Sheridan wins the primary and Joe Arpaio can just retire. He's 87 years old and he served his state well, but at some point he needs to retire. If he were to win, I'd be fine with it but I just don't see it happening.