Arpaio wins sixth term as Maricopa County sheriff

Cronkite News Photo by Sarah Edelman

Sheriff Joe Arpaio addresses the crowd at the GOP watch party in Phoenix.

Voters have elected Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to a sixth four-year term.

Cronkite News bases its projection on unofficial returns showing Arpaio leading his next closest opponent by a comfortable margin.

Arpaio, a Republican, faced Democrat Paul Penzone, a retired Phoenix police sergeant, and Independent Michael “Mike” Stauffer, who works for the Scottsdale Police Department.

Despite raising as much as 80 percent of his campaign’s $8.5 million coffers from out-of-state donors, Arpaio faced a growing Latino backlash due to his strict stance on immigration policies.

In office since 1993, Arpaio promotes himself as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” in part through made-for-media initiatives such as housing inmates in tents, making them wear pink underwear and feeding them green bologna.

Last year, Arpaio’s office had to reopen more than 400 sex-crime cases mostly in the El Mirage area. This year, Arpaio faced a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging civil rights violations.