Former Arizona officer Joe Rodriguez suspends Maricopa County sheriff race

PHOENIX — Former Arizona Department of Corrections Officer Joe Rodriguez has officially suspended his campaign to run for Maricopa County sheriff, stepping down to support another candidate in the race against Joe Arpaio.

Alongside his resignation announcement, Rodriguez also publicized his support for former Phoenix police officer Paul Penzone, who running for sheriff for the second time since 2012.

“From the start of this campaign, I have said that the only mission here is to defeat Sheriff Arpaio in November for the good of Maricopa County citizens,” Rodriguez said in a release.

The release continued on, saying Rodriguez believes the best choice for the Democratic party is to support Penzone in his candidacy.

“I look forward to doing all that I can to support Paul’s campaign and ensure that he becomes the new Sheriff of Maricopa County,” the release read.

Penzone responded by thanking Rodriguez in a press release, saying he admires his “courage and willingness” to serve the community.

“As residents of Maricopa County, we share a common commitment to electing new leadership at the sheriff’s office in November,” the release read.

Rodriguez, a Democrat, lost to Arpaio in the 2012 sheriff’s race by just 6 percentage points, or 80,000 votes. It was the second-closest election in the self-proclaimed America’s Toughest Sheriff’s 23 years in office.

Besides Penzone, Arpaio will face-off with Democrat William Hall, Republicans Dan Saban, Roger Baldwin, Mike Bodak and Marsha Hill and Independent Kenneth Baker.

Arpaio has held his position since 1993, but recently he has come under heavy fire after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against his office for his immigration enforcement policies.

Related

Alex Murdaugh’s defense and prosecutors expect to clash over evidence during pretrial hearingTrump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in battleground stateTrump wants the midterms to be all about himself. Judging by the ads, Democrats are happy to obligeTempe becomes 1st Arizona city to enact strict ban on Automated License Plate ReadersPhoenix Art Museum receives $5M gift for Asian art expansionTroy Jackson tells Susan Collins to ‘shut up’ during heated Maine Senate debate