Former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake contributed to the Democratic sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona. Paul Penzone, 52, is facing a challenge from former sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Flake tweeted a photo of a check he sent to Penzone’s campaign for $100 and he wrote “County over Party” on the memo line. Penzone, who won his seat in 2016, defeated Arpaio in that race after losing to him in 2012.
https://t.co/eWPPcBvPqP pic.twitter.com/636q6PeEOZ
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 4, 2019
During his time in the Senate, Flake was often at odds with President Trump and other members of the Republican Party. Flake opted not to run for reelection in 2018, after the tumultuous first years of the Trump administration.
Back in 2017, Flake donated to Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones of Alabama. In that race, Jones, the eventual winner, ran against Roy Moore who was battling allegations of sexual misconduct. Some of the women who came forward alleged that their interactions with Moore occurred when the women were underage.
Arpaio, 87, previously served as the county’s sheriff from 1993-2016. He announced his candidacy to reclaim his old seat last week. The announcement came two years to the day from when Trump issued a pardon to him. Arpaio faced up to six months in prison after being convicted of criminal contempt in 2017. He was convicted after failing to abide by a judge’s order to stop detaining people he thought were in the country illegally.
