Morning Digest: America's most reviled sheriff might finally get the boot next year

Leading Off:

● Maricopa County, AZ: Republican Joe Arpaio has spent his two-plus decades as Maricopa County sheriff cultivating his reputation as the most notorious law enforcement official in America. He's known for his abusive treatment of prisoners, for his appreciation of racial profiling, and for going hog-wild nuts with an "investigation" where he "proved" that Barack Obama's birth certificate is fraudulent. He is, of course, a disgrace to Arizona's largest county (the home of Phoenix), but no one's ever had enough juice to dislodge him from his job, which is, rather remarkably, an elected position.

That could finally change next year. Former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a Democrat, says he's being urged to challenge Arpaio by some "credible organizations and people," but cautions that he won't start considering the race until next year. Gordon knows it would be a difficult task, suggesting he'd have to be "crazy enough" to want to take on Arpaio, but it's by no means a hopeless task. In 2012, Arpaio only won with 50.7 percent of the vote, beating Democrat Paul Penzone by just 6 points. Had an independent candidate not run, the election would have been even closer.

Now, Maricopa is normally solidly Republican: Mitt Romney carried it by 10 points, very similar to his statewide margin. But Arpaio's continuous (and expensive) legal run-ins have helped make him a lot less popular than he once was, and with a presidential race juicing Democratic turnout, Gordon would have a real shot.