WASHINGTON _ As Donald Trump carried Arizona on his way to the White House four years ago, voters were simultaneously ushering another nationally renowned Republican with polarizing views on law enforcement and immigration out of office.
Now Joe Arpaio is back, mounting a campaign for his old job as sheriff of Maricopa County _ the nation's fourth-most populous county that could determine the outcome of the presidential election not just in Arizona, but nationally.
Republicans are warily eyeing the return of the 87-year-old Arpaio, who was pardoned by the president in 2017 for defying a court order and still calls Trump his "hero." Democrats, meanwhile, view Arpaio's crushing 13-point loss in 2016 as a harrowing omen for Trump this fall in a state that is quickly emerging as one of the most competitive 2020 battlegrounds.
