Sources say Arpaio will announce run for governor Monday
Reported by: Josh Bernstein
Email: jbernstein@abc15.com
Reported by: Dan Siegel
Reported by: Jillian Parrish
Last Update: 3:19 pm

Sheriff Joe Arpaio PHOENIX – Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is expected to announce Monday if he'll run for Arizona governor.

Several sources confirm to the ABC15 Investigators that Arpaio has already made a decision, and will likely run for the office.

Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen said he has spoken with the Sheriff on several occasions about running for governor.

As recently as last week, Pullen said the Sheriff told him by phone that "he was just letting me know he was seriously considering it and he was meeting with his advisors and supporters to make a final decision, and that decision would be in very early May."

Several high ranking sources within the Sheriff's Department tell the ABC15 Investigators that all the necessary paperwork "has been filled out and is ready to file."

Those same sources say Arpaio has been meeting with Republican power players for the last two weeks, and that several of the conversations focused on Arpaio running for governor.

In a press release from Arpaio's campaign dated March 22, 2010, Chad Williams with Summit Consulting Group said "in just 12 months, Arpaio has raised $2 million from supporters in Arizona and around the country."

According to Arpaio's public campaign reports, he currently has at least $1.2 million in his political war chest.

"Just when we think it's going to slow down, the contributions keep pouring in," Williams said.

The question of Arpaio's candidacy is getting an awful lot of buzz across the state these days.

If the Sheriff is going to run, he has to announce soon so he can start collecting the necessary signatures to file for the primary election. That filing deadline is May 26th.

He'll also have to resign as Maricopa County Sheriff.

In addition to buzz from within the official channels, there are also a lot of back channel hints that Arpaio is seriously considering a run for the office.

In early April, he told several media outlets his wife was encouraging him to run.

He also posted on his Twitter account, "Now my wife of 53 years has joined in to urge me to run for AZ Governor. I have a big decision to make."

The 77-year-old later told the Arizona Republic the only reason he wouldn't run for governor was that he'd be forced to resign as sheriff.

In mid April, Arpaio again used his Twitter account to create more speculation.

He wrote, "The time is coming to meet with my senior commanders to discuss the future."

A second post seemed to allude that Arpaio's time as Sheriff was about to become part of the past. It read, "the employees at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are outstanding and I have been lucky to be their sheriff."

If Arpaio does run for Governor, he'll be facing a long list of declared opponents, including Governor Jan Brewer, State Treasurer Dean Martin, businessman Buzz Mills and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.

Should Arpaio run for governor, and would you vote for him? Click "add a comment" below to soundoff.

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