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Joe Arpaio: Former Sheriff who failed to probe Arizona sex crimes gets over 120K votes for Maricopa County run

Arpaio is having a close fight with former chief deputy Jerry Sheridan, who has received around 36.7% votes with a total of 122,094, while Arpaio stands at 121,578, only 0.2% less than Sheridan

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is attempting to win from the crowded Republican party in the Arizona primaries, which are being held on August 4. In the race for the next Maricopa County sheriff, Arpaio is having a close fight with former chief deputy Jerry Sheridan, who has received around 36.7% votes with a total of 122,094, while Arpaio stands at 121,578, only 0.2% less than Sheridan, according to Arizona Central reports. 

Arpaio is trying to make a comeback after losing to Democrat Paul Penzone in 2016. Though Arpaio started anther term as Maricopa County Sherif in 2016, the contempt of court conviction against him contributed to his defeat against Penzone. Over the course of his career, which spanned from 1993 to 2017, Arpaio was embroiled in a series of controversies. Despite labeling himself "America’s toughest sherrif", he was subjected to extreme criticism for his stance against illegal immigration. 

The former sheriff has numerous civil rights lawsuits against him. One of the most prominent ones includes the injunction by the Supreme Court, barring him from conducting immigration round-ups. When his office continued to detain immigrants without reasonable suspicion, despite the order by the court, he was convicted of criminal contempt of court in July 2017. However, he was pardoned by President Donald Trump in August 2017. 

Arpaio has also been accused of numerous other crimes such as misuse of funds, mishandling the investigation into sex crimes, abuse of suspects in custody, improper clearance of cases, unlawful enforcement of immigration laws and abuse of power, among others. The US Department of Justice reportedly even concluded that Arpaio’s office oversaw the pattern of worst racial profiling, especially against Hispanic people. 

He seems to be leading in the Arizona primaries with an impressive number of votes despite his alleged criminal past. A significant number of people soon took to Twitter to express their concerns over Arpaio returning as the Maricopa County sheriff. Decision Desk HQ’s latest update reads, "Maricopa County Sheriff GOP Primary Partial Results Jerry Sheridan: 36.7% (122,094 votes) Joe Arpaio: 36.5% (121,578 votes)."

Reacting to the election results one angry internet user tweeted, "This doesn’t sit right with me. Did y’all just forget that Joe Arpaio oversaw arguably the worst pattern of racial profiling in the US..? It was completely OK to pull someone over if they LOOKED like they were an illegal immigrant according to him. Not to mention, he’s a FELON…" 

Another added, "That CRIMINAL Arpaio pardoned by trump is running for sheriff again. WTF really the world has gone mad."

Some of them used the platform to warn the people of Arizona against voting for Arpaio. One user tweeted, "Arizona? Has it ever occurred to you guys to not re-elect a convicted felon as the sheriff of your most populous county? Arpaio shouldn't be close much less a .1% nailbiter."

Another added, "Remember. Trump pardoned Arpaio. And no. I don’t know how AZ got so close. Arpaio is sadistic. Made detainees wear pink underwear and sleep in tents in our hot desert sun. He belongs in jail. Same cell as trump."

The other candidates in the primary against Arpaio from the Republican party include retired Air Force sergeant Mike Crawford and sheriff Lehland Burton.