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Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio loses Arizona GOP primary race after being pardoned by Donald Trump over racially profiling Latino motorists during immigration raids

Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio has lost the Arizona GOP primary race, three years after he was pardoned by Donald Trump for racially profiling Lat...

Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio has lost the Arizona GOP primary race, three years after he was pardoned by Donald Trump for racially profiling Latino motorists during immigration raids.
The self-titled 'toughest sheriff', 88, lost out by around 6,000 votes to his former deputy Jerry Sheridan in a last-ditch attempt to claw back his old job in Maricopa County.
Arpaio, who was sheriff for 24 years, confirmed he was hanging up his badge for good this time, after the latest in a series of failed political comeback bids.  

Sheridan will now go head to head in November with Democrat Paul Penzone who ousted Arpaio from office in a landslide victory in 2016. 
Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio (pictured) has lost the Arizona GOP primary race,
Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio (pictured) has lost the Arizona GOP primary race,
The results of Tuesday's primary are yet to be confirmed but the latest count Friday confirmed Arpaio's defeat to his former protege.  
Sheridan secured about 37 percent of the vote to Arpaio's 36 percent, according to the Maricopa County Elections Department.
With a difference of 6,280 votes and only 2,385 ballots left to be counted, it is not possible for Arpaio to close the gap. 
The race between the two former colleagues had been close with just 400 votes separating the two before Sheridan surged ahead, with experts saying Republican voters had lost interest in Arpaio's extreme stance on crime and immigration.  
Arpaio said he was 'a little shocked' to lose the vote and confirmed this year's race was the last time he would run for office. 
'I guess I lost by 1 percent, but I'm still the longest-serving sheriff in the history of Maricopa County,' he told the New York Times
'Nobody is going to beat that one.' 
This marked his second comeback bid since he lost out to Penzone in 2016, after he came third in a three-way race for the GOP nomination for US Senate in 2018. 
Arpaio was the first person to be pardoned by Donald Trump (pictured together) back in 2017 when he was convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a judge's orders to stop traffic raids that were racially profiling Latinos
Arpaio was the first person to be pardoned by Donald Trump (pictured together) back in 2017 when he was convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a judge's orders to stop traffic raids that were racially profiling Latinos
Arpaio meeting inmates in 2012 when he was sheriff. He was known for his touch stance on immigration and crime, including housing prison inmates in tents and forcing them to wear pink underwear
Arpaio meeting inmates in 2012 when he was sheriff. He was known for his touch stance on immigration and crime, including housing prison inmates in tents and forcing them to wear pink underwear
The former sheriff was known for his tough line on immigration throughout his 24-year tenure, including controversial sweeps of undocumented immigrants in Hispanic communities.
He was also known for housing prison inmates in tents and forcing them to wear pink underwear. 
Arpaio had promised a return to these harsh tactics during his latest election campaign.
His failed bid comes after he became the first of many Trump allies to be pardoned by the president in 2017, when he was convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a judge's orders to stop traffic raids that racially profiled Latinos. 
In 2011, a judge had ordered the sheriff to stop raids carried out by deputies under his orders which targeted members of the Latino community. 
Arpaio continued with them and was found guilty of wilfully violating a federal judge's order.  
He was facing six months behind bars before Trump controversially stepped in.  
Paul Penzone
Jerry Sheridan
Jerry Sheridan (right) will now go head to head in November with Democrat Paul Penzone (left) who ousted Arpaio from office in a landslide victory in 2016
Sheridan - Arpaio's deputy at the time - was also found guilty of civil contempt of court and was referred for criminal contempt charges, but the statute of limitations prevented him being charged.  
Sheridan, who worked in the Sheriff's Office for 38 years before he retired as deputy chief when Arpaio lost the election in 2016, told USA Today he was pleased with the primary results and heaped praise on his former boss. 
'Joe Arpaio did a great job for a long time,' he said. 
'He will never be irrelevant, but I think his political career is over.'
Sheridan added that Democrat candidate Paul Penzone is 'very beatable' as the two now face off in the November election.  
Penzone, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, won the seat from Arpaio in 2016 after immigrant rights groups and philanthropist George Soros backed him in efforts to oust Arpaio. 
Political experts have touted Penzone the firm favorite in the general election, with the Democrat even said to be drawing in some Republican voters.   
'As sheriff of Maricopa County, I have removed politics and focused on restoring the office to an ethical, professional, and transparent organization,' Penzone said in an earlier statement. 
'I have been committed to a foundation of integrity, with an unwavering focus on public safety.'  

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