Who (if Anyone) Should Drop Out of Sheriff’s Race Against Joe Arpaio?

The controversy continues over what looks to be a three-way race for Maricopa County Sheriff come November, as the Feathered Bastard highlighted in his column this week.Right now, it looks like there are going to be two people trying to defeat Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Independent candidate Mike Stauffer, and Democrat...
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The controversy continues over what looks to be a three-way race for Maricopa County Sheriff come November, as the Feathered Bastard highlighted in his column this week.

Right now, it looks like there are going to be two people trying to defeat Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Independent candidate Mike Stauffer, and Democrat Paul Penzone (or John Rowan).

Neither Stauffer nor the Democrat-backed Penzone has a perfect record, although neither of them has been accused of overseeing the worst case of racial profiling in history.

Neither is concerned about wasting time, effort, money, or really, a single thought, on President Obama’s birth certificate, and they both seem to give a rip about sex crimes in the county.

When we asked our readers about two weeks ago whether Arpaio could be defeated with two challengers on the ballot, it was close — 35 percent said yes. Right behind that, 33 percent said no. The pessimists polled at 31 percent, saying Arpaio’s blind faithful will reelect him either way.

So, who has to go?

As the Bird points out, Democrat Dan Saban didn’t really run the world’s greatest campaign last time around, and took in a little more than 42 percent of the vote. Arpaio grabbed about 55 percent.

That said, Penzone (or Rowan) can bank on getting the vote from just about every Dem in the county.

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On the other hand, it’s been Stauffer’s position that he’s more likely to grab some Republican votes from Arpaio — Republicans who wouldn’t dare vote for a Democrat. He’s also banking on the thought that the Dems would probably roll with him instead of Arpaio in the election. (Check out an info-graphic from the Stauffer campaign here.)

Let’s take a vote: who has to go?

Cast your vote below:


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