Joe Arpaio

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Joe Arpaio

Republican Party

Prior offices

Maricopa County Sheriff

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Elections and appointments

Last election

August 4, 2020

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1950 - 1953

Contact

Campaign website

Personal website

Joe Arpaio (Republican Party) was the Maricopa County Sheriff in Arizona.

Arpaio (Republican Party) ran for election for Maricopa County Sheriff in Arizona. He lost in the Republican primary on August 4, 2020.

Arpaio was a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Arizona. Arpaio lost the primary on August 28, 2018.

Arpaio is a former Republican county sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. First elected in 1992, Arpaio lost a re-election campaign in the general election on November 8, 2016.

Biography

Early career

Arpaio served in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1953. He has served as a police officer in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas. His professional experience also includes working as a federal narcotics agent and as the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for Arizona.

Maricopa County Sheriff

From 1992 to 2016, Arpaio was the Republican county sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Action Fund

In March 2016, Arpaio announced he was forming a new nonprofit advocacy group, called the Sheriff Joe Arpaio Action Fund. In an email to supporters, Arpaio wrote, “Obviously, I am not a billionaire who can write a personal check to buy elections across this country (like Soros!). But what I can do is reach out to loyal supporters like you and ask for your help. Together we can build an organization that promotes a conservative agenda, helps conservative ideas become law and help those conservatives win office.”

Criminal contempt conviction

On July 31, 2017, Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for his decision to disregard a 2011 court order. The original order required Arpaio to stop detaining people without having reasonable suspicion that they committed a crime. According to Politico, Arpaio continued to detain those residing in the country without legal permission even if they were not suspected of committing a crime. In July 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton said this was a violation of the court's order. On August 9, 2017, Arpaio told the Arizona Republic that he would welcome a presidential pardon if Trump offered one. He explained, "The reason I think a lot of this is being talked about is that many, many people around the country are saying, 'Trump should pardon.' I have not called him on this issue. I’m sure I could. ... I’m with him, pardon no pardon, and not asking him. Although, as I said, many other people are asking him."

Presidential pardon

On August 22, 2017, at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, President Trump hinted that he would pardon Arpaio, asking the crowd, "Do the people in this room like Sheriff Joe? Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job? He should have had a jury, but you know what I’ll make a prediction: I think he’s going to be just fine, ok? But I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy. But Sheriff Joe can feel good." On August 25, 2017, Trump issued the pardon. In a press release, the White House said, "Arpaio’s life and career, which began at the age of 18 when he enlisted in the military after the outbreak of the Korean War, exemplify selfless public service."

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2020)

General election

General election for Maricopa County Sheriff

Incumbent Paul Penzone defeated Jerry Sheridan in the general election for Maricopa County Sheriff on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Penzone (D)	55.7	1,095,955
		Jerry Sheridan (R)	44.2	869,748
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	3,355

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,969,058
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maricopa County Sheriff

Incumbent Paul Penzone advanced from the Democratic primary for Maricopa County Sheriff on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Penzone	100.0	375,970

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 375,970
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• William Hall (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maricopa County Sheriff

Jerry Sheridan defeated Joe Arpaio, Mike Crawford, and Lehland Burton in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Sheriff on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jerry Sheridan	37.4	156,818
		Joe Arpaio	36.0	150,656
		Mike Crawford	26.3	110,271
		Lehland Burton (Write-in)	0.3	1,136

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 418,881
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2018

See also: United States Senate election in Arizona, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Arizona

Kyrsten Sinema defeated Martha McSally and Angela Green in the general election for U.S. Senate Arizona on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kyrsten Sinema (D)	50.0	1,191,100
		Martha McSally (R)	47.6	1,135,200
		Angela Green (G)	2.4	57,442
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	566

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,384,308 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Arizona

Kyrsten Sinema defeated Deedra Abboud in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Arizona on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kyrsten Sinema	79.3	404,170
		Deedra Abboud	20.7	105,800

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 509,970
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Ruben (D)
• Bob Bishop (D)
• Cheryl Fowler (D)
• Richard Sherzan (D)
• Chris Russell (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arizona

Martha McSally defeated Kelli Ward and Joe Arpaio in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arizona on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Martha McSally	54.6	357,626
		Kelli Ward	27.6	180,926
		Joe Arpaio	17.8	116,555

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 655,107
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Craig Brittain (R)
• Nicholas Tutora (R)
• Christian Diegel (R)
• Michelle Griffin (R)

Green primary election

No Green candidates ran in the primary.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Eve Reyes-Aguirre (G)

Libertarian primary election

No Libertarian candidates ran in the primary.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Doug Marks (L)

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2016)

Maricopa County held elections for the county board of supervisors, county assessor, county attorney, county recorder, sheriff, county treasurer, and special districts in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on August 30, 2016. The filing deadline for those wishing to run in this election was June 1, 2016. Paul Penzone defeated incumbent Joe Arpaio in the Maricopa County sheriff general election.

Maricopa County Sheriff, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Paul Penzone	56.42%	861,757
	Republican	Joe Arpaio Incumbent	43.58%	665,581
Total Votes				1,527,338
Source: Maricopa County Recorder, "2016 General Election Final Results," accessed November 28, 2016

Maricopa County Sheriff, Primary Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joe Arpaio Incumbent	65.40%	226,655
Dan Saban	26.88%	93,137
Marsha Hill	4.02%	13,927
Wayne Baker	3.70%	12,836
Total Votes		346,555
Source: Maricopa County Recorder, "2016 Primary Election Results," September 9, 2016

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joe Arpaio did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Arpaio's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

Immigration

• Excerpt: "Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been an outspoken critic of the federal government's mishandling of the illegal immigration issue. Maricopa County is the gateway to the rest of the country for illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug smuggling. Sheriff Joe believes we must secure our border, but first and foremost enforce existing illegal immigration laws."

Animals

• Excerpt: "Sheriff Joe takes a no-nonsense approach to investigating crimes against animals, apprehends the suspects and takes them to jail. Sheriff Joe Arpaio's no-kill animal shelter, MCSO Animal Safe Haven (or M.A.S.H.), was created to house and care for animals that have been abused or neglected by their caretakers and rescued by the Animal Crimes Investigations Unit."

Child support

• Excerpt: "Sheriff Joe Arpaio knows that our children are the future. They need strong families, good schools, and safe neighborhoods to thrive. But too often they are neglected by the people they should trust the most: their parents. It's why his department has arrested over two thousand deadbeat parents – those that have abdicated their duty to pay child support. This policy has resulted in returning over $15 million to families in the form of child support."

"Tent City"

• Excerpt: "In 1993, Sheriff Joe Arpaio started the nation's largest Tent City for convicted inmates. The Korean War-era tents were erected to house inmates and save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in new jail construction costs. Arpaio's reasoning: If our men and women who serve in the military can live in tents, why shouldn't convicted criminals. Unlike other jails around the country, Tent City has no creature comforts. Sheriff Arpaio banned smoking, coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, and unrestricted TV in all jails. He has the cheapest meals in the U.S. too. The average meal costs between 15 and 40 cents, and inmates are fed only twice daily, to cut the labor costs of meal delivery."

"Hard Knocks High"

• Excerpt: "Even though Joe Arpaio is known as "America's Toughest Sheriff" he also believes in the importance of giving people a second chance. That's why he started "Hard Knocks High," the only accredited high school under a Sheriff in an American jail. This program allows juvenile offenders to continue their education while in jail in an effort to reduce the recidivism rate."

Drugs and alcohol rehabilitation

• Excerpt: "In 1996, Sheriff Joe instituted a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in the jails, called "ALPHA." ALPHA stands for Aware, Learn, Plan, Help and Accept. This highly successful program helps inmates recover from addiction and dependency on alcohol and such drugs as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine."

Public safety

• Excerpt: "Through tough enforcement policies, dedicated patrol officers and detectives, Sheriff Arpaio is proud that the areas his deputies patrol are the safest in the county."

Endorsements

2016

Arpaio received the following endorsements in 2016:

• Phoenix Law Enforcement Association
• Arizona Police Association
• Arizona Association of Detention Officers
• National Border Patrol Council

See also

2020 Elections

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Maricopa County, Arizona	Arizona	Municipal government	Other local coverage
Government of Maricopa County, Arizona Maricopa County, Arizona Counties in Arizona Cities in Arizona	Arizona Arizona elections, 2016 Public policy in Arizona Endorsers in Arizona	Top counties 100 largest cities Current mayors Current council officials	2016 municipal elections School board elections, 2016 Local ballot measure elections in 2016 2016 local judicial elections

• United States Senate
• United States Senate election in Arizona, 2018

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Campaign website
• Campaign website (2018 congressional campaign)
• Campaign Facebook page (2018 congressional campaign)
• Personal Twitter page

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Maricopa County Sheriff 1993-2016	Succeeded by Paul Penzone

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Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ruben Gallego (D)

Mark Kelly (D)

Representatives

District 1

David Schweikert (R)

District 2

Eli Crane (R)

District 3

Yassamin Ansari (D)

District 4

Greg Stanton (D)

District 5

Andy Biggs (R)

District 6

Juan Ciscomani (R)

District 7

Vacant

District 8

Abraham Hamadeh (R)

District 9

Paul Gosar (R)

Republican Party (6)

Democratic Party (4)

Vacancies (1)