JOEMENTUM!

Vote for Joe Arpaio, you have nothing to lose but your chains! Unless you’re a woman in labor. Or were caught up in one of his tough-on-brown-people sprees.

Joe Arpaio — the 85-year-old ex-Maricopa County sheriff convicted criminal of contempt of court and pardoned by President Trump — says he is running for the United States Senate.

This isn’t surprising, especially since Il Dotard ruined his Help me with my legal fees scam by pardoning him. But oddly enough, some Republicans seem less than enthusiastic about the prospect of another Senate run by another aged gun-toting scofflaw. No idea why.

“For the GOP, it’s a disaster if Arpaio wins,” said Republican Tyler Montague, who runs the Arizona Public Integrity Alliance. “His loss for the sheriff’s race is a bellwether for his Senate race in a general election.”

Some are hoping he’ll go away.

Count veteran Republican strategist Chuck Coughlin among those who don’t see Arpaio winning the seat – and aren’t convinced that he’s serious about a Senate run.

“He lost the state’s most populous red county to (Democrat) Paul Penzone in the last cycle, which means he lost the confidence of the Republican swing voters,” Coughlin said. “What I’m inclined to believe this is a one-off. He’s going to have a fanciful run here for 25 days and roll around in the spotlight (then withdraw). When you file papers you become real. When you have an organization and people doing something, you become real. A tweet, as we now know … is not real.”

Others are more optimistic.

Arpaio would likely win the GOP primary – or at least scare off the one Republican who could deny Sinema the seat. That would be Rep. Martha McSally.

Not everybody agrees that Arpaio couldn’t win.

“I think he is a threat all the way because he’s Trump round 2,” longtime Republican strategist Stan Barnes told me. “I’m not saying he’s going to win. I’m saying that anyone who discounts him as something less than a serious candidate is making a mistake.

“He has 100% name ID and has more money than God and is bear hugging Donald Trump in the public square in the most high profile of ways. You put all that together and it’s a formidable thing.”

And Steve Racist Bannon now has lots of free time on his hands, maybe he can help out.

Update – Just a reminder that Arapaio is running for Flake’s seat. If he wins the GOP will lose a Republican who fully supported the GOP/DOPUS agenda and gain a Republican who will fully support the GOP/DOPUS agenda, minus the veneer of faux-niceness that made some pundits purr.