Members of a right-wing group are running as Republicans for sheriff in at least five Michigan counties in Tuesday's primary.
Jon Rutan heads the Michigan chapter of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. He is also making his fourth try for sheriff of Hillsdale County.
Rutan said sheriffs ultimately decide what laws are constitutional, because they're the only law officers directly elected by the people. "There's sheriffs that do the bidding of the state and there's sheriffs that do the bidding of the people and that's the difference."
He said this is the largest number of candidates running under the association's banner in the state so far.
Rutan says if there's a conflict over the law between a federal law enforcement officer, and a sheriff, the sheriff's view must prevail.
"If you look at other elected positions, they work for the state," Rutan said. "The sheriff's the only one that has state authority that works for the people."
CSPOA member Michael Thyng is running for sheriff in Branch County, Jason Long is running in Berrien County, and Dean Brand is running under the constitutional sheriff's banner in Allegan County.
In Barry County, Sheriff Dar Leaf is running for re-election. He's on the national board of the Constitutional Sheriffs Association. Leaf garnered national attention for pursuing an investigation of baseless claims of widespread fraud in Michigan's 2020 presidential election — an investigation which he says he's still pursuing today.
Leaf's three challengers all say he should stop pursuing the false claims and turn his attention to his regular duties.
Matt Saxton is CEO of the Michigan Sheriff's Association. He said technically, all sheriffs in the state are "constitutional" sheriffs, in that the position of sheriff is created by the Michigan constitution.
"I think the voters within their communities realize who is best able to serve them in their capacity as sheriff," Saxton said. "We at the Sheriffs Association are not affiliated with that organization, which has been around — it's not a new movement. It's been around for 20-plus years. I don't think that, other than in the media's eyes, there are a large number of currently elected sheriffs that are members of that organization."
The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate watchdog group, calls the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association an anti-government extremist group. The association's founders frequently associated with extremist organizations like the Oath Keepers and white supremacist groups.
