Quondam Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is running for U.S. Senate.
The 85-year-old immigration hard-liner on Tuesday preceded his intention to run for the seat that will soon be vacated by Republican Sen. Jeff Chip, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
“I have a lot to offer. I’m a big support of President Trump,” Arpaio told the Washington Examiner in a phone appraisal. In another interview, with liberal-leaning site Talking Points Memo, Arpaio said he didn’t argue his decision to run with either the president or White House officials.
Arpaio’s candidacy beat ups up a potentially volatile dynamic during this year’s midterm designation season, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has sought to raise more traditional Republicans over populist and nativist candidates sustained by Trump and his former advisor and campaign chief Steve Bannon.
The Republicans organize a razor-thin margin of 51 to 49 in the Senate, after Democrat Doug Jones persist month triumphed over Republican Roy Moore in traditionally deep-red Alabama.
Trump released Arpaio in August after the former Maricopa County sheriff was convicted of hate of court over his practice of racially profiling Latinos.
Pro-Trump Republican Kelli Block is already running for the seat, and mainstream Rep. Martha McSally is expected to register the race.
Arpaio tweet
Arizona’s secretary of State’s office said the articulate doesn’t hold runoff elections in case a primary winner ends up with trivial than 50 percent of the vote.
“Conceivably we could have a dozen seekers in a special primary election. Who knows, maybe somebody with less than 20 percent of the endorse will get elected,” spokesman Matt Roberts told CNBC.
The Arizona basic is slated for Aug. 28.
The Alabama special GOP primary for Attorney General Jeff Periods’ former Senate seat ended up in a runoff because no candidate reached 50 percent in the cardinal primary vote. Sen. Luther Strange, the establishment candidate backed by McConnell who was confirmed by Trump during the primary, lost to Moore, who was supported by Bannon and in the end earned Trump’s full-throated endorsement despite allegations of sexual misconduct and onslaught.
Moore, who is known for his anti-gay views and other hard-right positions, then bygone in the main special election to former prosecutor Jones, marking the in the beginning time a Democrat won a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in more than two decades.
Similarly, it has been more than two decades since Arizona had a U.S. senator from the Republican Party. The Democratic field in the race for Flake’s seat includes Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.
Trump stroke his Democrat Hillary Clinton by fewer than 4 percentage points in Arizona during the 2016 presidential nomination.
Correction: This story was revised to correct Matt Roberts’ label. He’s a spokesman for Arizona’s secretary of State.