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Self-Proclaimed 'America's Toughest Sheriff' Joe Arpaio Makes Another Bid For His Former Post

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is trying to win back the post in metro Phoenix that he held for 24 years. The 88 year old faces his former second-in-command Jerry Sheridan in the Aug. 4 Republican primary.

It will be Arpaio’s second comeback bid. He was unseated in the 2016 sheriff’s race and was trounced in a 2018 U.S. Senate race. Arpaio has vowed to bring back his controversial immigration patrols, outside jail tents and his other trademarks that were done away with by the courts or his successor. He was accused of racial profiling during his immigration sweeps and was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2017, for which he was pardoned by President Trump. The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Paul Penzone, who handily defeated Arpaio in 2016.