Maricopa County Sheriff’s race is too close to call; Sheridan retains slight lead

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Special election results show a tight race between two candidates vying to become Maricopa County’s next sheriff.

As of 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, Republican Gerry Sheridan maintained his overnight lead with 677,313 votes, a total of 53% over Democratic challenger Tyler Kamp, who had 600,342 votes, or about 47% of the vote.

Kamp and Sheridan have extensive law enforcement experience, and both have controversies from the past that have been discussed during the election cycle, including in televised debates.

Sheridan worked for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for nearly 40 years and was Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s second-in-command when a federal judge found the sheriff’s office guilty of racial profiling in 2013 for targeting Latinos during traffic stops.

As a result, the judge appointed a federal monitor to oversee the reforms. To date, it has cost taxpayers nearly $400 million and counting.

Arpaio fought for these reforms, and Sheridan sided with him on many of these statements.

“There were lawyers who represented the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. All the sheriff’s deputies involved in the human smuggling unit, they all testified before the court, before Judge Snow, that Jerry Sheridan had nothing to do with it. I have never ordered anyone to do anything related to the illegal immigration system, period. End of story,” Sheridan said.

Kamp, who switched parties to run as a Democrat, is a former Phoenix police lieutenant. He served for over 20 years and retired in 2021.

Following this, the policewoman who reported him filed a complaint. A city investigation found Kamp guilty of sexual misconduct during his final year on the force, citing that Kamp sent dozens of inappropriate text messages while the officer was in training and under his command.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned.

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