Fifth election win prompts question: Can Arpaio be beaten?

Maricopa County voters re-elected Sheriff Joe Arpaio to a fifth four-year term on Tuesday after a couple of years of high-profile conflict over his tenure, particularly on immigration issues.

His easy victory left a couple of his opponents wondering if he ever can be beaten.

When he won Tuesday, Arpaio made this promise: "This is not my last campaign."

Arpaio will be nearly 80 years old when he comes up for re-election in 2012.

One ardent opponent, immigration rights activist Elias Bermudez, said to beat Arpaio, you need to be like Arpaio.

"We have to look for a person who has the character, also the charisma, to go against Arpaio," said Bermudez, who has clashed frequently with the sheriff.

He added, "Arpaio knows how to use the media, he knows how to use his persona, the way he handles things. He is so overtly an extremist, to the point that he causes people to look his way."

Former Buckeye Police Chief Dan Saban, who has lost twice to Arpaio, said the sheriff's use of the media has made him unstoppable.

"He's created an image that -- when you don't have the same opportunity to compete in the media like he does -- it's hard to dismantle."

Bermudez questioned whether Saban used the media effectively and tried to compete in this year's campaign. He said it takes some controversy to compete in the media.

Bermudez said he doesn't know who, if anyone, can beat Arpaio, but he'd like to see it happen.

"We have a saying in Spanish -- there's a big difference between a good politician and a politician who is good," Bermudez said. "Arpaio's a good politician, but he's no good."