Controversial Trump ally Joe Arpaio announces Arizona Senate run

Controversial former sheriff Joe Arpaio announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, sparking what is bound to be a GOP squabble over who the party should posture as their candidate of choice.

"I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again," Arpaio wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

The 85-year-old served as the sheriff for Maricopa County between 1993 and 2016. Throughout his tenure, he was known for his hawkish approach to undocumented immigrants and harsh conditions of the infamous "Tent City Jail."

Arpaio was convicted for contempt of court during civil rights lawsuit proceedings in July 2017 -- a crime for which he was pardoned by President Trump just a month later.

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"I have a lot to offer. I’m a big supporter of President Trump," Arpaio told the Washington Examiner of his Senate bid. "I’m going to have to work hard; you don’t take anything for granted. But I would not being doing this if I thought that I could not win. I’m not here to get my name in the paper, I get that everyday, anyway."

Senator Jeff Flake announced he would not seek re-election during a scathing floor speech aimed at the president in October, saying "it is time for our complicity and our accommodation of the unacceptable to end."