Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio narrowly lost the Republican primary in efforts to reclaim his old job.
Arpaio, who was pardoned by President Trump and once known as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” lost the GOP primary for his old sheriff seat by approximately 1%, according to Friday’s latest tally of the election. Arpaio’s opponent and former chief deputy Jerry Sheridan won with 37% of the vote, a reported difference of 6,280 votes out of the 420,000 ballots cast.
The former sheriff lost his 2016 bid for a seventh term in office to former Phoenix Police Department sergeant and centrist Democrat Paul Penzone by 13 percentage points. Sheridan will face off against Penzone in the upcoming general election.
Trump pardoned Arpaio in 2017 after a judge ruled he was guilty of criminal contempt of court. Arpaio refused to follow a judge’s order to stop traffic patrols that specifically targeted illegal immigrants. Demographic changes in the area and the Republican’s history of racial profiling played a role in Arpaio’s loss in both cases.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner in 2019, he acknowledged support was “a little weak in the Hispanic community” but was confident that he’d have high Republican turnout.
