<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Courtesy of <i>CNN</i> at:<div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/arizona-senate-joe-arpaio/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/arizona-senate-joe-arpaio/index.html</a><br><div><div><br></div><div>———————————————</div><div><div><h1 class="pg-headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 56px; margin: 27px auto 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: "CNN Condensed", CNN, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: 64px; font-feature-settings: 'kern' 1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; letter-spacing: -0.01em; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Joe Arpaio, controversial sheriff pardoned by Trump, enters Arizona Senate race</h1></div><div><br></div><div>Washington (CNN) - Joe Arpaio, the Republican former Maricopa County sheriff known for his hard-line immigration tactics, says he's running for Senate.</div><div><br></div><div>"I have a lot to offer. I'm a big supporter of President Trump," Arpaio told the Washington Examiner in an interview kicking off his campaign. "I'm going to have to work hard; you don't take anything for granted. But I would not being doing this if I thought that I could not win. I'm not here to get my name in the paper, I get that every day, anyway."</div><div><br></div><div>Arpaio was defeated in the 2016 election after 24 years in office as sheriff. He was convicted last year of criminal contempt for defying a court order to stop racially profiling Latinos but was pardoned by President Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign Arpaio had supported, in August before serving any jail time.</div><div><br></div><div>Arpaio told supporters in a fundraising email that he'd filed the paperwork to run in Arizona's late-August Republican primary.</div><div><br></div><div>On Twitter, he said: "I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again."</div><div><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 32px; margin: 32px 0px -5px; padding: 0px; font-family: "CNN Condensed", CNN, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: 40px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-feature-settings: 'kern' 1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Sets up primary fight</h3></div><div><br></div><div>GOP Sen. Jeff Flake is retiring, setting up a fight among top Arizona Republicans for the nomination.</div><div><br></div><div>National Republicans appear poised to land their top recruit for the seat: Rep. Martha McSally is set to holds events Friday in Tucson, Phoenix and Prescott where she'll make what's being billed as a "special announcement."</div><div><br></div><div>Arpaio and McSally would join Kelli Ward, the conservative state senator who drew 40% of the vote in the 2016 primary against Sen. John McCain, in the race.</div><div><br></div><div>Ward is supported by a super PAC funded by the GOP megadonor Mercer family. She was also backed by Steve Bannon -- though Ward distanced herself from the former White House chief strategist after Bannon's comments in a new book drew condemnation from Trump.</div><div><br></div><div>Though the primary is months away, it bears some similarities to the three-way Republican primary ahead of the Alabama special election in December. Arpaio, like Roy Moore, is a controversial figure with a solid base of die-hard suporters. Ward, like Rep. Mo Brooks, is also well-liked by anti-establishment conservatives. And McSally, like Luther Strange, is the establishment preference -- though Republicans argue McSally, a former fighter pilot who has proven her ability to raise money and win close races, is a stronger candidate.</div><div><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 32px; margin: 32px 0px -5px; padding: 0px; font-family: "CNN Condensed", CNN, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: 40px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-feature-settings: 'kern' 1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">A boost for Democrats</h3></div><div><br></div><div>The Democratic candidate in a race that represents one of the party's best pick-up opportunities on the 2018 midterm map is Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.</div><div><br></div><div>Arpaio's entry into the race could be a boon for Arizona Democrats who will lean on Latino turnout in hopes of winning the Senate race.</div><div><br></div><div>Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by just 4 percentage points in Arizona in 2016, making it a much closer race than traditional swing states like Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Virginia.</div><div><br></div><div>Latino voters made up 15% of the electorate and favored Clinton by a 2-to-1 margin, CNN's exit polls found.</div><div><br></div><div>Opposing Arpaio has long energized Arizona Democrats, and his presence in the race -- and pardon by Trump -- will be a fundraising tool for state and national Democrats.</div></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></body></html>