Trump-pardoned fmr. sheriff Joe Arpaio in 'dead heat' in AZ's GOP Senate primary race

Early polling indicates the race to keep Arizona’s Senate seat red might be a nail-biter.

The state’s primary voters are nearly evenly split among the three Republican candidates, the Daily Wire reported.

Recently pardoned former Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced he’d be making a run for the seat on Tuesday and as primary voters having to choose between himself, State Senator Kelli Ward, and Rep. Martha McSally.

McSally takes a small lead with 31%, Arpaio is next at a close 29%, while Ward is holding at 25%, according to a ABC15/OHPI poll.

If Alabama’s recent special election is any indication, the statistical dead heat could spell big trouble for Republicans, warned the Daily Wire‘s Ben Shapiro.

DEAD HEAT: Arpaio Tied With Ward, McSally In Arizona Primary. Could Republicans Hand Another Senate Seat To Democrats? https://t.co/bKjLdDQ9yj pic.twitter.com/h1dRBJQrDc

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 10, 2018

Roy Moore ran as deeply conservative establishment outsider, but as sexual allegations mounted against the embattled candidate, many conservative Alabama voters stayed home, and gave Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former senate seat to a Democrat for the first time in a generation.

While America’s voters crave anti-establishment blood to take over D.C.’s “swamp,” Shapiro warned that Arapaio’s poltical baggage could spell doom for the GOP.

Arpaio was pardoned by President Trump after being convicted of ignoring a court order to stop racial profiling. While many conservatives applauded Trump’s decision and view Arpario as a refreshing antidote to politically correct leftists, the accusations that have been waged against him are numerous.

Shapiro pointed out:

“His office failed to investigate hundreds of sex crimes, had journalists arrested, tried to charge political opponents, burned down a house and killed a dog in a search for illegal weapons that weren’t found, and wasted hundreds of millions of dollars. There’s a reason Arpaio lost his last sheriff’s race in the same election Trump won the state. He’s also a birther, for good measure.”

Arizona already had two squeaky-clean, by comparison, candidates in the running before Arpario threw his hat in the ring.

McSally, who currently holds the lead, is a pro-life, hawkish retired Air Force Colonel who votes with Trump 100% of the time, but failed to openly endorse him in 2016, according to Shapiro.

Air Force Academy alum, retired Air Force Col. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., is recognized by President Donald Trump during a presentation ceremony of the Commander-in-Chief trophy to the Air Force Academy football team, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Ward, who’s enjoyed Trump’s support, took heat for suggesting cancer-stricken Sen. John McCain hand over his seat in her favor since he’s going to die. She was also widely criticized for blaming McCain for the rise of ISIS. Ward lost to establishment McCain in 2016’s senate race.

Arpaio’s addition to the race further splits the Republican vote and has conservatives like Shapiro worried the seat could turn blue in an atmosphere that’s quickly becoming weary of scandal bedlam.

“Enough is enough. I’m a Tea Partier down to the bone, ” Shapiro wrote. “I want power out of Washington, D.C. and the federal government slashed down to minimal size,” he continued.

“But I agree with the founders that we need elites — people who are better than we are at the business of politics — in the business of politics. By all means, oppose elitism. But we must stop conflating elitism with being elite. You wouldn’t want a non-elite plumber. You shouldn’t want a non-elite politician.”

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