PHOENIX (AP) – Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces three Republican challengers in Tuesday’s primary in what has become the toughest election in his 23 years as the top law enforcer in metropolitan Phoenix.
The 84-year-old sheriff of Maricopa County is pitted against former Buckeye Police Chief Dan Saban, retired sheriff’s deputy Wayne Baker, and Marsha Hill, a former commander of a volunteer sheriff’s posse.
The winner will face Democrat Paul Penzone, a retired Phoenix police officer, in the Nov. 8 election.
Arpaio is seeking a seventh term as he’s experiencing his worst legal troubles.
Over the last four years, a judge has ruled Arpaio’s officers have racially profiled Latinos, and the sheriff was found to be in contempt of court for ignoring court orders in the profiling case.