Arizona’s former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio went from losing a re-election bid and facing possible jail time on a politically motivated contempt charge to receiving a presidential pardon and standing on the verge of a potential new career.
And according to an Arizona television station’s report this week, he might be aiming high.
According to KSAZ in Phoenix, Arpaio is sending fundraising emails to supporters to raise money for his legal defense bills, but will also be using the communication to test support for a potential run for the United States Senate.
It’s not the first time Arpaio has expressed interest in the Senate.
Shortly after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump in August, Arpaio spoke with the Washington Examiner and hinted that he wasn’t interested in being retired or fading away, but wanted to continue serving the people of Arizona and helping President Donald Trump succeed in some capacity.
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“I could run for mayor, I could run for legislator, I could run for Senate,” said the 85-year-old former sheriff, who was Maricopa County’s top lawman for 24 years.
That was back in August. Now, the Senate seat currently occupied by the soon-to-be-gone Republican Sen. Jeff Flake would be the most likely political office Arpaio would run for. Flake had not yet announced his intention to retire at the end of this term at the time of that interview.
“I’m sure getting a lot of people around the state asking me” to challenge Flake, Arpaio said at the time. “All I’m saying is the door is open and we’ll see what happens. I’ve got support. I know what support I have.”
That’s what Arpaio is hoping to find out from the fundraising query.
An incredibly biased and cynical opinion piece from The Arizona Republic published parts of the email sent to Arpaio’s supporters, and interspersed quotes from the letter with extremely snarky commentary. But here are the parts Arpaio admirers want to see:
“I have a big decision to make — but what I end up choosing to do in the next critical days largely depends on you, too, Patriot,” Arpaio’s email began.
“You see, this is a very personal email, and I need my most trusted and dependable supporters to help me get it right, because President Trump needs my help, and I have to make a very big decision … very soon,” he continued.
“Here is the situation: to really get his stalled reform agenda moving on Capitol Hill, my friend President Donald Trump needs a U.S. Senator he can trust to actually vote for action on illegal immigration, taxes, the economy and more — and some are asking me to step forward,” the former sheriff added.
Arpaio then cut to the heart of the matter and asked, “So I want to ask you — Should I run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Arizona?”
The question was followed by a plea for funds to help reduce the burden of legal debt Arpaipo had garnered in fighting off lawsuits against him by former President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice for enforcing immigration laws.
But that was in turn followed by a reminder that Trump needed all the support he could get in Washington, and indicated that Arpaio was up to the task of assisting the president in getting legislation passed.
Democrats and the media absolutely loathe Sheriff Joe, but many people in Arizona and across the country love him and stand with him. It will be interesting to see if he is able to muster enough of that support to win the Republican primary and general election for Arizona’s open Senate seat in 2018.
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via Conservative Tribune
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