Voters have elected Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to a sixth four-year term.
Cronkite News bases its projection on unofficial returns showing
Arpaio leading his next closest opponent by a comfortable margin.
Arpaio, a Republican, faced Democrat Paul Penzone, a retired Phoenix
police sergeant, and Independent
Michael “Mike” Stauffer, who works for
the Scottsdale Police Department.
Despite raising as much as 80 percent of his campaign’s $8.5 million
coffers from out-of-state donors, Arpaio faced a growing Latino backlash
due to his strict stance on immigration policies.
In office since 1993, Arpaio promotes himself as “America’s Toughest
Sheriff,” in part through made-for-media initiatives such as housing
inmates in tents, making them wear pink underwear and feeding them green
bologna.
Last year, Arpaio’s office had to reopen more than 400 sex-crime
cases mostly in the El Mirage area. This year, Arpaio faced a U.S.
Justice Department lawsuit alleging civil rights violations.
