Joe Arpaio was undefeated for 20 years, but has lost 7 straight races since then

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's loss in the race for Fountain Hills mayor was the latest in a string of defeats for a man who was once Arizona's most politically invincible elected official.

The big picture: From 1992 to 2012, Arpaio won six consecutive elections for sheriff, knocking off an incumbent in his first Republican primary.

• He became an international celebrity known as "America's toughest sheriff" for his tough-on-crime attitude, Tent City jail and trademark pink boxer shorts he made inmates wear, and he was a political kingmaker who became Arizona Republicans' most sought-after endorser.

Yes, but: Since losing his 2016 re-election to Democrat Paul Penzone, Arpaio's political fortunes have gone into a tailspin.

• He's been on the ballot in every election cycle since, losing the GOP primaries for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and sheriff in 2020, and losing races for Fountain Hills mayor in 2022 and 2024.

Driving the news: Arpaio finished last in the three-way race for mayor last Tuesday with just 15% of the vote.

• Incumbent Ginny Dickey, who got 47%, and challenger Gerry Friedel, who earned nearly 40%, will face off in a runoff in November.
• Arpaio's result was a far cry from his first mayoral race two years ago, when he lost to Dickey by just 213 votes of more than 10,600 cast.

Zoom in: Arpaio told Axios he doesn't know why he's lost so many races since leaving the sheriff's office.

• "I'm very popular, across this nation, here and overseas," he said.
• He also emphasized that politicians from across the country still call him every election cycle asking for his endorsement, "so evidently I must be doing something right."

Between the lines: Arpaio's presence was felt in this year's Republican primary for sheriff .

• Arpaio endorsed former Department of Public Safety director Frank Milstead over Jerry Sheridan, his former chief deputy who defeated him in the 2020 GOP primary.
• Sheridan won the three-way primary 51.5% of the vote.
• Meanwhile, Republican candidate Frank "Mike" Crawford explicitly repudiated Arpaio's controversial legacy, saying during a debate last month that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office needed to "get away from that type of hardcore, tough-as-nails law enforcement."

Context: A federal judge ruled in 2013 that MCSO had engaged in widespread racial profiling against Latinos as part of the anti-illegal immigration crusade that had become Arpaio's signature issue.

• In 2017, after he'd left office, a judge found Arpaio in criminal contempt of court for knowingly violating the federal court's order that MCSO stop detaining people solely over their immigration status.
• Former President Trump, of whom Arpaio was an early supporter, pardoned him of the contempt conviction.

What's next: Arpaio said he didn't know what he'd do next but wasn't ruling out another run for office in 2026.

• "With me, you never know. But I'm not going to retire and go fishing," he said.
• The 92-year-old Arpaio said he's still healthy and active, working eight to 10 hours per day, and that people shouldn't make any negative assumptions about him because of his age.
• "Don't compare me with Biden and other older politicians," he said.