The Republican candidate for the Maricopa Community College District Governing Board has suspended his campaign following a citation for public sexual indecency.
Randy Kaufman was arrested earlier this month after a police officer at Rio Salado College’s Surprise campus found him masturbating in his vehicle in the parking lot, according to AZCentral. Police said that Kaufman was in full view of a child care center, where children were outside on a playground.
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The candidate said in a statement written Tuesday and obtained by the Associated Press that “a personal legal matter has recently arisen and I need to step out of the race to focus on personal affairs.”
The Republican Party of Arizona released a statement supporting the campaign’s suspension as well, according to the outlet.
Kaufman has not submitted a withdrawal statement, so his votes will still be counted if that is not submitted before Election Day, according to the county elections department. He was running for an at-large seat on the board against Democratic state Rep. Kelli Butler.
Maricopa County has been under scrutiny since the 2020 election and was the center of former President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud. The state Senate spent months auditing the 2020 election in Maricopa County.
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Top officials in Maricopa County criticized the effort, stressing the report had “no new evidence” that would alter the result of the 2020 presidential election.
