Arizona's growing Latino voter population signals the end of Arpaio's political career

The New York Times reported that there was a time not long ago when many in Arizona thought Joe Arpaio would remain sheriff of Maricopa County for the rest of his life. Now the 86-year-old is waging one of his final battles, against irrelevance.

Some are writing off the pummeling Mr. Arpaio is taking in his Senate campaign as the sad bookend in a career of a man who could have ridden into the sunset after being pardoned by President Trump a year ago. Mr. Arpaio’s ebbing political fortunes, already made clear by his defeat in 2016 in his bid for a seventh term as sheriff, point to colossal changes in the political landscape of Arizona, a longtime Republican bastion.

Prominent conservatives around Arizona are now backing Mr. Arpaio’s rivals in the Republican Party, viewing him as far too divisive to win against Democrats in the contest for the seat being vacated by Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who clashed with Mr. Trump.

At the same time, many independents and newly registered Latino voters are rallying around Representative Kyrsten Sinema, the moderate Democrat who has emerged as the front-runner in what will be a hotly contested general election. The last time Democrats won the seat in Arizona was 36 years ago.

Joseph Garcia, the director of the Latino Public Policy Center at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute, said that Latino voter turnout remains relatively low because Latinos often fall into categories that aren’t likely to vote, including people who are young, poor or who have limited educational attainment.

Only 48 percent of Latinos in Arizona are eligible to vote, compared with 81 percent of the state’s white population, according to the Pew Research Center. But with 2.1 million Latinos living in Arizona — about a third of the state’s population — voter registration drives are starting to produce results.

“We’re getting closer to flipping Arizona and we have Joe Arpaio to thank for much of this momentum,” said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of the Arizona Center for Empowerment, a group that supports immigrant rights and public education.

READ: Joe Arpaio Could’ve Ridden Into the Sunset. Instead He’s Taking a Pummeling in Arizona.