(Photo of Joe Arpaio from Wikipedia is by Gage Skidmore.)Former Sheriff and convicted criminal Joe Arpaio has announced that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Flake in Arizona. He will be running against two other Republicans in the state's primary -- Rep. Martha McSally and former state senator Kelli Ward.
All are Trump-supporting right-wing extremists, but Arpaio carries the most baggage. That doesn't mean he couldn't get elected though. The Arizona Republican Party is controlled by the teabagger/trumpistas and Arpaio is a hero among those people.
This is the same wing of the GOP that nominated Roy Moore in Alabama. They could easily make that same mistake by nominating Arpaio in Arizona. And it could have the same result -- the election of a Democrat in a race most believed would be won by the Republicans.
While Arpaio is still admired by the teabagger/trumpistas, he lost his last election as sheriff in his home county after being convicted of violating judicial orders (even though he was pardoned by Trump). I think most Arizonans would find it distasteful to be represented by Arpaio, and that's good news for Democrats.
Could Arpaio really be nominated? Only time will tell, but I think he would have to be considered the front-runner right now. Right-wingers seem to have a knack for nominating bad candidates.
For me, the senate race in Arizona just got a lot more interesting.
