Jerry Sheridan, Tyler Kamp win Maricopa County sheriff primaries
Republican Jerry Sheridan and Democrat Tyler Kamp won the primaries to lead the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, according to projections by the Associated Press.
On Tuesday evening, Sheridan, a former chief deputy in the Sheriff's Office, attributed his commanding lead in early ballot counts to his and his campaign team's work.
"I can tell you that for the past two years, I've put in my time," Sheridan said by phone. "I've driven tens of thousands of miles and met with tens of thousands of people."
Sheridan said the experience of running for office in 2020, when he lost to incumbent Democrat Paul Penzone, helped him prepare for this election cycle. He said the Sheriff's Office means a lot to him personally.
"I spent 40 years there," Sheridan said. "I wasn't happy with how things were being run in the Penzone administration ... and I want to change that. I want to make the Sheriff's Office a place where the people that work there want to come to work again and feel proud to work there."
Sheridan said he heard from a lot of voters who are eager for him to bring back the approach of longtime, former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose tough-on-crime brand has been difficult to shake for Republicans trying to succeed him and whose decisions led to a successful racial profiling lawsuit that put the Sheriff's Office under ongoing, intensive federal court oversight and has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
"But I think they know that I am not Joe Arpaio, and I am not like Joe Arpaio," Sheridan said. "The voters want an approach to law enforcement that is no-nonsense. They want someone who will enforce the rule of law, and hold people accountable for their actions. And I think people know that's what I stand for."
Sheridan, who was Arpaio's second-in-command, said he'd like to restore many aspects of his former boss' administration, including a barracks-type jail that would recall the infamous Tent City jail. The Sheriff's Office oversees the operation of the county's jails and law enforcement patrols in parts of the county.
Sheridan's competition for the Republican spot on the November ballot was former Glendale police officer Mike Crawford and former director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Frank Milstead.
Recent campaign finance reports showed Sheridan leading all other contenders of both parties, raising more than $334,000. Milstead, however, received Arpaio's endorsement.
Crawford attempted to separate himself from his opponents by saying that he thought the Sheriff's Office needed to "get away from that type of hardcore, tough-as-nails law enforcement" for which it was known under Arpaio.
All three Republican candidates pledged to end the federal court oversight of the Sheriff’s Office brought on by the Melendres racial profiling lawsuit.
The Melendres case began in 2008 when Latino drivers sued the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which was then led by Arpaio, alleging they were racially profiled. U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow agreed and, in 2013, mandated court oversight of the Sheriff's Office. Snow ordered reforms to weed out racial profiling in the Sheriff's Office.
Penzone inherited the lawsuit and its mandates when he took office in 2017 after ousting Arpaio, who was first elected in 1992. During Penzone's seven years in office, he could not satisfy all the lawsuit requirements. He lamented the continued federal oversight, citing it as one of his reasons for stepping down. Penzone said the Melendres case was a distraction from the other work of the Sheriff’s Office, calling it “one cloud still hanging over this office."
Tuesday's primary was the first time in at least 20 years that both Democrats and Republicans had competitive primaries for Maricopa County sheriff.
Kamp declared victory Thursday. In a statement, he thanked his family and campaign staff, and commended his Democratic primary opponent, Sheriff Russ Skinner, for his service to the Sheriff’s Office.
“As sheriff, I want to ensure we have a safe community where all can thrive,” Kamp said. “I want to build on the successes of Sheriff Penzone and continue to move the MCSO forward with integrity, accountability, and effective policing that ensures a safe Maricopa County for all.”
Reached by phone Thursday, Skinner said he would not be making any general election endorsements in the sheriff’s race.
Both Democratic candidates tried to portray themselves as apolitical, career law enforcement officers who have prioritized community service.
Skinner, who was appointed to replace former Sheriff Paul Penzone, was running for a full term. A longtime Republican, he switched parties on Oct. 3, 2023, one day after Penzone announced he would step down before the end of his term. State law required the Board of Supervisors to appoint someone of Penzone's political party as his replacement.
Kamp previously worked as a shift commander, gang enforcement sergeant and homicide detective for the Phoenix Police Department. He is a fifth-generation resident of Maricopa County with more than two decades of law enforcement experience.
Skinner touted his 34 years of experience with the Sheriff's Office as his greatest strength, while Kamp called that tenure, which included more than two decades serving under Arpaio, a weakness. Arpaio was found in criminal contempt of a federal court as the result of the Melendres lawsuit.
Elena Dominguez, 20, said voted Tuesday because of the sheriff race. She cast her ballot Tuesday at a slow-moving polling location on Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus.
Although she identified as independent, Dominguez chose to vote on the Democrat ballot, she said. She gave her vote to Kamp because of his interest in restorative justice, she said.
"He was different," Dominguez said. "He was more interested in restorative justice. The other sheriff was already there, and he used to be a Republican for a long time."
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is one of the largest sheriff's offices in the nation, with upward of 3,000 employees, including deputies, jail guards and civilians.
The office patrols unincorporated areas of the county and municipalities without a designated police force. It also serves Superior Court orders and warrants, collects delinquent taxes, coordinates search and rescue missions and oversees the county's five jails.
Who won the primary races for Maricopa County attorney?
Incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell beat her Republican primary opponent, the Associated Press projected.
Mitchell is a longtime prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, first joining the agency in 1992. She was appointed interim county attorney in April 2022 after Allister Adel resigned. Mitchell then won a November 2022 special election to complete Adel’s term.
Mitchell’s 2024 primary opponent was former Maricopa County Attorney's Office bureau chief and trial attorney Gina Godbehere, who attempted to run to the right of Mitchell, portraying herself as a "conservative fighter" who would undo the "liberal policies" of Mitchell's administration.
Mitchell declared victory Wednesday morning on the social media site X.
“I am grateful to the voters of Maricopa County for demonstrating their trust in me again for this important role of protecting our community,” she said.
Throughout the primary race, Mitchell portrayed herself as a county attorney who is tough on retail crime, arguing that more aggressive prosecution tactics have a deterrent effect. She has also aggressively pursued restoring the death penalty in Arizona.
Godbehere touted her experience working for 25 years at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. She has criticized Mitchell for declining to file felony charges against a truck diver who plowed through a bicycling group in Goodyear in February 2023 and offering a plea deal to Charles Ryan, the former Arizona prisons chief who kept police engaged in an armed standoff for hours at his Tempe home.
Mitchell will face Democrat Tamika Wooten, who was the only Democratic primary candidate in the county attorney race.
Wooten, a judge pro tempore, has been a lawyer for more than 30 years. She has practiced defense law, served as a chief prosecutor in Glendale and as a municipal judge in multiple jurisdictions. She announced her candidacy for the 2020 election but failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office is one of the nation's largest prosecutorial agencies. The county attorney prosecutes felonies and some misdemeanors and provides legal services to the county's Board of Supervisors and county departments.
Which Maricopa County justice court positions were on primary ballots?
Justice courts in Arizona are created based on population, and there are 26 in Maricopa County.
Each court has one justice of the peace and one constable. Justice courts handle misdemeanor crimes, protective orders, evictions, traffic infractions and smaller-dollar civil matters.
Justices of the peace serve four-year terms and receive an annual salary of about $100,000. Candidates do not need to be attorneys or have any specific education.
The Maryvale, Moon Valley, and San Tan precinct races for justice of the peace were contested primaries.
Two Democrats were running for Maryvale justice of the peace: Andy Gastelum and Francisco Sobampo.
Gastelum had a substantial lead in unofficial early returns.
He was running for reelection to the justice seat he has held since 2007.
Sobampo is an attorney and the managing director of the Sobampo Law Firm in Phoenix. He previously served as a judge pro tempore in Maricopa and Gila counties.
No Republican was running in the Maryvale precinct justice of the peace race, meaning whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely win the general election.
In Moon Valley, human resources professional Mireya Arroyo was competing against incumbent Deborah Begay for the Democratic nomination.
Arroyo had a considerable lead in unofficial early returns.
Arroyo specializes in navigating insurance claims and military leave, as well as retirement planning and first-responder assistance within the public sector, according to her campaign website.
Begay was sworn into office as Moon Valley justice of the peace in 2021 and was the first Native American justice of the peace in Maricopa County. Before taking office, she worked as a tribal policy specialist for the Arizona Department of Education.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary for Moon Valley justice of the peace will face Republican Michael Irish in the general election.
Incumbent Sherwood Johnston and Blake King were running for the Republican nomination in the San Tan precinct.
The Arizona Republic has called the race for King based on unofficial results.
King has worked as a police officer for 20 years in Chandler and Pinal County. He told The Republic that his law enforcement experience has taught him to become an unbiased problem solver.
Johnston was sworn into office in January 2023, after he was appointed to fill a vacant seat, and before that worked as a judge pro tempore in the Justice Courts from 2008. He previously served as Paradise Valley's magistrate and president of the Arizona Magistrates Association.
There was no Democrat in the San Tan precinct justice of the peace race, meaning whoever wins the Republican primary will likely win the general election.
See all 2024 Arizona primary races
A recap of everything: When is Arizona's primary? Election day is July 30. Here is a voter guide to help you learn about all the candidates.
Were any constable races contested?
Constables act as representatives of justice courts.
They are considered peace officers when performing their duties and are tasked with serving paperwork, such as warrants, writs and notices, including evictions, on behalf of their courts. Under Arizona law, elected constables can appoint deputies and other staff members with the consent of the county board of supervisors.
Only one candidate appeared on ballots for all constable primary contests except in the Highland precinct. In that race, a write-in candidate was running against the Republican whose name appeared on the ballot.
The November general election should have no contested constable elections in Maricopa County.
Reporter Christina Avery contributed.
Reach the reporter at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County primary: Who won sheriff, county attorney races?
