Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday he had raised more than $450,000 between August 9 and September 17, increasing his campaign war chest for his re-election to more than $8 million and dwarfing his competition.
Although the sheriff has spent more than half the money, he has roughly $3.8 million remaining to battle his two opponents — Democrat Paul Penzone and Independent Mike Stauffer, according to
3TV in Phoenix.
Arpaio’s fundraising considerably outpaces his opponents. Penzone raised only $138,000 over the same period, while Stauffer had raised only $51,000 as of the middle of August, with about $800 on hand.
This year's race is the 20th anniversary of Arpaio’s first election as sheriff and comes after he has sustained bad press and a string of lawsuits and investigations of wrongdoing in the past few years.