Joe Arpaio: My endorsements more effective than John McCain's

by Dan Nowicki, columnist - Aug. 29, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is suggesting that his political endorsement of a candidate is more effective than U.S. Sen. John McCain's.

Arpaio, who has feuded politically with fellow Republican heavyweight McCain for years, reached out to The Arizona Republic last week to make the point after reading an article about congressional primary-election results. Arpaio complained that the story neglected to mention that early on he had endorsed Jesse Kelly, the upset winner in the GOP race to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and Paul Gosar, who will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick on Nov. 2.


He also stressed that McCain had endorsed former state Sen. Jonathan Paton, who lost to Kelly in the southern Arizona race, as well as interim Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, who fell to his Arpaio-backed opponent Bill Montgomery. Arpaio went beyond just endorsing Montgomery; his 2012 re-election campaign actually paid for advertising attacking Romley, a longtime antagonist of his.

"McCain endorsed Paton and I endorsed his opponent, Jesse Kelly," Arpaio said. "McCain endorsed Romley - he lost. He endorsed (congressional candidate) Jim Waring - he lost. So I don't think McCain's endorsements really mean that much."

But Arpaio's record of primary endorsements wasn't perfect, either. In the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., Arpaio endorsed former Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker, who appears to have finished fourth behind vote-leader Ben Quayle, Steve Moak and the McCain-supported Waring.

"He lost, but I'm two-for-one," Arpaio said when asked about Parker. "I think that's pretty good, especially when everybody thought Paton was going to beat Jesse Kelly. Everybody thought that because McCain endorsed him."

In McCain's own race, Arpaio strongly backed former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth. The sheriff's endorsement did not stop McCain from crushing Hayworth on Tuesday in the GOP Senate primary.

"I knew he was the underdog," Arpaio said of Hayworth.

The political friction between Arpaio and McCain dates back to the 2000 presidential race, when Arpaio rejected McCain for then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. In 2004, McCain supported Arpaio's unsuccessful Republican primary foe. In the 2008 White House primaries, Arpaio endorsed McCain's rival Mitt Romney and even stumped for the former Massachusetts governor in Iowa and New Hampshire. McCain won the GOP nomination.

Still, Arpaio said he's willing to support McCain in the general election - if he is asked.

"If he wants to call, I'll help the guy," Arpaio said. "I doubt if he's going to call, but that's OK."

In other developments:

• The first post-primary Senate poll indicates that McCain is starting the general-election campaign with a healthy lead over his Democratic opponent, former Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman. The automated Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of 500 likely Arizona voters showed McCain with 53 percent to Glassman's 31 percent. (Another 10 percent preferred some other, unnamed candidate and 6 percent were unsure.) The poll, conducted Wednesday, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

• After an election, even a hard-fought one, the losing candidate typically calls to congratulate the victor and concede the race. McCain still hasn't heard from Hayworth. For that matter, neither has Rep. Harry Mitchell, the Democrat who ousted Hayworth from his House seat four years ago. Hayworth never called Mitchell, either, after the 2006 election, a Mitchell aide confirmed Friday.

www.azcentral.com