Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is nearly 15 points behind in his reelection race

After 23 years in office, the notorious Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) might not win re-election. The latest Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News poll of the Arizona county sheriff's race shows Arpaio nearly 15 points behind Democrat Paul Penzone, 45.9 percent to 31.1 percent. Arpaio, who calls himself "America's toughest sheriff," made national headlines last year when he spoke out in favor of Donald Trump and joined him in the mission to "seek the truth" about President Obama's birth certificate.
Arpaio's massive slip is likely due — at least in part — to voters' widespread opposition to building a border wall and deporting all undocumented immigrants, both proposals Arpaio supports. The poll found that 30.8 percent of the county's voters strongly disagree with mass deportation, while 41.7 percent disagree. As for the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, 43.8 percent of registered voters in the county said it should "definitely not" be built.
Arpaio's campaign has brushed off the poll's results as inaccurate, claiming the survey "included two and half times as many Democrats as Republicans." "It is so screwed up it's not worth the paper it's printed on, with all due respect," said Arpaio campaign manager Chad Willems, vowing that Arpaio will win re-election by a "landslide."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The poll was taken from Oct. 10-15 in English and Spanish, and reached out to 1,200 people on "up-to-date voter registration lists," producing 811 valid responses. The margin of error on the sheriff's race is plus or minus 5.6 percentage points. The margin of error for the immigration-related questions is plus or minus 5.9 percentage points.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Sudoku medium: August 2, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib Bukele
Speed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on Canada
Speed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect
-
Harris rules out run for California governor
Speed Read The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee ended months of speculation about her plans for the contest
-
Trump sets new tariff rates as deadline nears
Speed Read New tariff rates for South Korea, Brazil and India announced
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Senate confirms Trump loyalist Bove to top court
Speed Read The president's former criminal defense lawyer was narrowly approved to earn a lifetime seat
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein