Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is raising money off Joe Arpaio’s announcement that he is running for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, saying the nation has an “obligation’ to keep the former Maricopa County sheriff out of Congress.
In an email blast Tuesday, Mr. Murphy said that Arpaio is “unfit to serve” and said that half of the donations that come in through the fundraising effort would be sent to Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema’s campaign for the U.S. Senate.
“Like Roy Moore before him, Joe Arpaio is unfit to serve,” Mr. Murphy said, alluding to the failed Alabama Senate candidate. “The president’s pardon of his illegal behavior was a national disgrace. This is a man who became a hero to the alt-right because he racially targeted immigrants and placed them in what he himself referred to as a ’concentration camp.’”
The seat in Arizona opened up after Republican Sen. Jeff Flake announce he would not seek re-election.
Mr. Flake has been a top critic of President Trump.
Mr. Trump pardoned Arpaio in August before he was sentenced for his conviction on a contempt of court charge, citing “more than 50 years of admirable service to our nation.”
Mr. Murphy said Democrats can win the seat in the midterm elections this fall.
’If we can win here, we will not only have kept a disreputable candidate out of the chamber, but we will take one giant leap forward toward replacing Mitch McConnell as the Senate Majority Leader,” Mr. Murphy said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.