Four of the five candidates running for sheriff in Michigan as members of a far-right group failed in their primary election bids.
Members of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association believe sheriffs are the ultimate law officers of the land — above federal law enforcement — and that they alone should decide which laws should be enforced.
Candidates running under the group's banner lost Republican primary races in Allegan, Berrien, Hillsdale and Branch counties.
In Hillsdale County, incumbent Sheriff Scott Hodshire won the Republican primary with about 75% of the vote; his opponent, the Michigan constitutional sheriffs chapter President Jon Rutan received 25% of the vote. It was Rutan's fourth attempt to win the Hillsdale County Republican primary for sheriff.
Allegan County incumbent Sheriff Frank Baker won the Republican primary with about 64% of the vote, with constitutional sheriffs challenger Dean Brandt receiving 36%.
Branch County's Republican Party had no incumbent in its primary race for sheriff. Sheriff's office Captain Fred Blankenship won the Republican primary with almost 48% of the vote; Robin Swartz came in second with 32%, and constitutional sheriffs member Michael Thyng was in last place with 20% of the votes cast.
Republican incumbent Sheriff Chuck Heit won the Berrien County primary with 64% of the vote on Tuesday. Challenger Roger Johnson was second with just under 25% of the votes cast. Constitutional sheriffs member Jason Long garnered about 7% of the primary vote.
Sheriff Dar Leaf, a national board member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, won re-election in Barry County by a wide margin with about 58% of the vote. His next-closest rival received about 34% of votes.
All three of Leaf's challengers said he should abandon his long-running investigation of false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election in Michigan. Leaf recently said he had not abandoned that effort.
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.
