After Pardon, Birther Joe Arpaio Considers Senate Run Against Trump Critic Jeff Flake

Recently pardoned racist Joe Arpaio is considering running for the Senate to challenge Republican Trump critic Sen. Jeff Flake in Arizona.

The Washington Examiner reported:
“I could run for mayor, I could run for legislator, I could run for Senate,” Arpaio said Monday. One particular race, however, is likely to gain significant attention: the GOP primary next year facing Flake, R-Ariz., a forceful Trump critic.

“I’m sure getting a lot of people around the state asking me” to challenge Flake, said Arpaio, who served 24 years as sheriff before losing reelection in 2016. “All I’m saying is the door is open and we’ll see what happens. I’ve got support. I know what support I have.”

If Arpaio were to run for Senate after being pardoned by Trump, the stench of corruption surrounding the presidential pardon would be difficult to escape. The question will become did Trump pardon Arpaio so that he could run against Flake in the Republican Senate primary?

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A Jeff Flake loss in the Arizona primary to either Ward or Arpaio would put another red state seat in play for Democrats. The 2018 Senate map was supposed to strongly favor Republicans, but if Flake loses his primary along with a seemingly destined to lose Dean Heller, the door is open for Democrats to negate potential losses in other states.

Trump is destroying the Republican Party from within, and in the process may be handing GOP controlled Senate seats to Democrats in 2018.


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