- Controversial former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, who President Trump pardoned in 2017, narrowly lost his bid for his old job, Decision Desk HQ projected on Friday evening.
- Arpaio was defeated in the Republican primary by Jerry Sheridan, his longtime former deputy, who worked in the office for 38 years.
- Sheridan will face incumbent Democratic Sheriff Paul Penzone, who defeated Arpaio in 2017.
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The stakes:
In Maricopa County, controversial former sheriff Joe Arpaio lost his comeback for his old job for sheriff of Maricopa County in a crowded Republican primary against retired Air Force sergeant to Jerry Sheridan, a long-time former Chief Deputy in the county's sheriff's office.
Arpaio narrowly lost the primary to Sheridan by a margin of under two percentage points when Decision Desk HQ projected he had lost on Friday evening. In-person voting in the primary ended on Tuesday, August 4, but a substantial portion of Arizonians voted with mail ballots, which take longer for officials to process.
Arpaio, who branded himself as "American's toughest Sheriff," had a 24-year tenure marked by scandals over the abusive conditions in Maricopa County jails, accusations of missuse of public resources, and controversy over his aggressive efforts to police individuals suspected of being in the US illegally, all of which prompted numerous investigations and lawsuits.
A federal judge found Arpaio guilty of three counts of contempt for defying a court order mandating him to stop enforcing a policy that allowed officers to essentially racially profile and demand citizenship documents from people they suspected of being undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio in August of 2017 before he was set to be sentenced.
Sheridan, who previously served in the Maricopa County sheriff's office for 38 years, will face incumbent Democratic Sheriff Paul Penzone, who defeated Arpaio in 2017.
At the congressional level, Democrat Mark Kelly is expected to formally clinch the Democratic nomination for US Senate, and will face GOP Sen. Martha McSally in one of the most highly contested US Senate races this year.
There's also a Democratic primary in Arizona's sixth congressional district to face GOP Rep. Dave Schweikert, who is currently embroiled in an ethics scandal over his improper campaign finance activity.
A report from the House Ethics Committee released on July 30 concluded that Schweikert committed 11 violations of House Ethics rules and fined him $50,000, with the full House formally voting to censure him a day later.
The report found that Schweikert's chief of staff improperly donated thousands to his re-election campaign and Schweikert used official House time and resources on his re-election, improperly used campaign funds for personal reasons, pressured staff to work on his re-election campaign, and even fabricated taking a $100,000 loan and spending $100,000 to inflate his financial posturing.
Due to redistricting, Republican congressmen Schweikert and Quayle were pitted against each other in the 2012 #AZ06 Republican primary. In yesterday's ethics report, we learned that Schweikert made up a fake $100k loan to boost himself over Quayle in what was a very tight race. pic.twitter.com/HxhYHE5nV2
— Aseemru (@Aseemru) July 31, 2020
Arizona's sixth district, located in the northwest suburbs of Phoenix, is an under-the-radar competitive House district where Democrats could expand their margins and even flip away from Republican control. The seat is currently rated as "leans Republican" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia and likely Republican by Inside Elections.
Phoenix-area physician, cancer researcher, and first-time Democratic candidate Hiral Tipirneni is the frontrunner in fundraising and endorsements, and is likely to clinch the nomination. Tipireni now has ten times as much cash on hand as Schweikert, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
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