Despite a humiliating 2011 -- complete with a Mexican drug cartel infiltrating his office, a scathing Department of Justice report claiming he's guilty of the worst racial-profiling practices in U.S. history, and the fallout from the Munnell Memo -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will once again run for sheriff, he announced this morning.
The seemingly endless scandals and tales of corruption aside, Arpaio's gonna be 80 years old by the time his next term would begin.
The announcement ends the speculation/publicity stunt that Arpaio would seek higher office, like the U.S. Senate seat getting vacated by Senator Jon Kyl, which Arpaio claimed to be considering running for.
Arpaio will likely face Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer in the November 6 election.
Stauffer, a 28-year police veteran, started his campaign to unseat America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" last year.
A life-long Republican, Stauffer switched party affiliation in October,
and is now running as an Independent to avoid having to face Arpaio in a
GOP primary -- where Arpaio's far-right-wing-nut, blue-haired base
would likely make up the majority of those voting.
We've had a chance to get to know Stauffer a bit -- he's slightly more progressive than Arpaio. For example, he knows how to use a computer. Check out some of our coverage of his campaign here.
Arpaio claims his campaign already has about $6 million in its coffers.
Speaking of money, as of May, defending Arpaio in legal cases has cost Maricopa County taxpayers more than $50 million since America's priciest sheriff took office in 1993, according to the County Risk Management Department -- and let's not forget about the roughly $100 million he "misspent" over the last eight years.
Oh, yeah -- did we mention he's gonna be 80 years old?
