• Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff: While it's been almost eight years since Joe Arpaio lost reelection as Maricopa County sheriff, the legacy of the Arizona Republican who spent decades as one of America's most venal and abusive law enforcement officials is playing a key role in both party's July 30 primaries for his old job.
We'll start on the Democratic side, where appointed incumbent Russ Skinner is trying to turn back former Phoenix police officer Tyler Kamp. Skinner used last week's debate to emphasize his 34 years with the department, including as the top deputy to the previous sheriff, Democrat Paul Penzone. (Penzone resigned early this year to take a job in the health insurance industry.)
Kamp, though, responded by arguing that voters should care more about Skinner's service under Arpaio, the man that Penzone unseated in 2016. Kamp focused on the sheriff's department's racial profiling policies against Latinos which led to a gigantic and expensive federal overhaul that's still in progress. (The Associated Press wrote last year that the cost to taxpayers was estimated to hit $273 million by this summer.)
The challenger also reminded the audience that Skinner's tenure coincided with Arpaio's "Tent City" prison, which the Republican himself called a concentration camp and where temperatures could reach 145 degrees in the summer heat. Penzone went on to close Tent City after he unseated Arpaio.
Skinner, who was tasked with complying with federal court orders in 2013, defended himself by arguing that he's helped the department make major changes during the last decade. He also insisted he was best equipped to keep things moving forward, saying, "I know the staff. I know the community. I know our challenges and where we excel."
Skinner was a lifelong registered Republican until last October when he joined the Democratic Party one day after Penzone announced his intention to step down. That change, though, allowed the Republican majority on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which was required to choose an appointee from Penzone's party, to select Skinner.
"I'm not tied to my political affiliation," Skinner told 12 News' Brahm Resnik as he launched a bid to keep his new job. "I'm a law enforcement professional. That's not going to change how I do my job." When Resnik asked the sheriff if he voted for Donald Trump in 2020, he replied, "I don't recall. It's possible."
Kamp also only registered as a Democrat last year, but the local Democratic Party unsuccessfully encouraged the supervisors to select him over Skinner. The party also used its X account to promote Kamp, including a May missive saying, "It's critical that we elect someone who truly shares our values."
Arpaio, meanwhile, inserted himself into the three-way GOP primary last month by endorsing former state Department of Public Safety director Frank Milstead. The Arizona Republic's Abe Kwok notes that the former sheriff sided against Jerry Sheridan, a longtime top deputy who has talked about bringing back Tent City.
Sheridan, though, crossed Arpaio during the 2020 cycle when he ran against his former mentor in the primary to take on Penzone. Sheridan edged out Arpaio 37-36 as former law enforcement official Mike Crawford took 26%. Penzone went on to defeat Sheridan in a landslide 56-44 as Joe Biden was carrying Maricopa County 50-48, a showing that made Biden the first Democratic presidential nominee to win here since Harry Truman in 1948.
Crawford is also running again, and Arpaio seems to be more angry at him than at Sheridan. "Mike Crawford falsely claimed that I offered him my endorsement," Arpaio posted Friday on Instagram. After extolling Milstead, the former sheriff concluded, "Unfortunately, Mike Crawford’s false statement proves that he is desperate."
Arpaio, for his part, is also on the ballot at the end of this month, albeit for a far less influential office than the one he used to hold. The 92-year-old Republican is once again trying to unseat Fountain Hills Mayor Ginny Dickey, who defeated him 51-49 two years ago in the nonpartisan contest to lead this 24,000-person community.