Two days after former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced he would seek the seat of retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, a new poll showed him in a virtual tie for the Republican nomination.
According to a ABC-15/OHPI poll conducted by the ABC-TV affiliate in Phoenix, Arpaio, who is 85, draws 29 percent of the vote among likely Republican voters to 31 percent for Rep. Martha McSally (who is expected to declare for the seat next week).
Physician Kelli Ward, who had been the front-runner among Republicans since announcing against Flake, ran third in the poll with 25 percent of the vote.
The same survey showed Arpaio with 97 percent name recognition among likely voters.
Under most circumstances, someone like Arpaio would have no chance at all. During 24 years as sheriff, the office of the self-styled “toughest lawman in America” was forced by courts to pay $146 million in settlements and fines for racial profiling and mishandling of prisoners. In 2016, Arpaio lost a re-election bid, but he obviously remains a political force to be reckoned with.
Arpaio was pardoned by President Trump after his conviction.
“You always take the sheriff seriously!” former Arizona GOP Chairman Randy Pullen told Newsmax.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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