Sheriff David Clarke Dusts Off Cowboy Hat and Eyes Run for Senate

Over his controversial years in politics, David Clarke has worn a number of hats: Milwaukee sheriff, right-wing firebrand, outstanding Donald Trump surrogate, cowboy. (Actually.)

However there’s one other hat Clarke would possibly wish to add to the gathering: U.S. Senator.

As Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) gears up for her 2024 re-election marketing campaign, Clarke has courted hypothesis within the Badger State that he’s contemplating a problem.

After just a few comparatively quiet years, Clarke has launched a brand new podcast the place he expounds on his conservative views and lambasts the likes of Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) as “RINOs.” His followers on social media have urged him to run for Senate, and Democratic operatives have begun to view him as a possible candidate.

In an announcement to The Each day Beast, a consultant for Clarke mentioned he had not dominated out a marketing campaign.

“As time goes on he might make a dedication of what to do with the branding he has constructed up through the years, however not now,” mentioned Judy Wilkinson, a Clarke spokesperson. “Clarke would by no means take something off the desk because it pertains to his future.”

Whereas Wilkinson defined that Clarke’s “goal proper now’s to turn out to be a thought chief within the conservative motion,” she previewed a possible line of assault towards the incumbent Democratic senator.

“Tammy Baldwin is aware of she’s susceptible,” she mentioned. “She shall be nicely funded, however she has no message and runs strictly on her identification politics guidelines. She is a back-bencher within the U.S. Senate.”

If he determined to run, Clarke would immediately change the dynamic of what’s anticipated to be probably the most aggressive Senate contests of the 2024 season. His staunch help of Trump, his picture as a “balls-to-the-wall” cop, and his lengthy report of steadily outrageous statements have given him nationwide MAGA motion recognition that could possibly be an asset in a GOP main—and an anchor towards Baldwin.

Not like different potential GOP candidates, Clarke boasts actual recognition within the nationwide MAGA motion for his vocal backing of Trump, hardcore lawman picture, and lengthy report of steadily outrageous statements

“Folks respect his no-nonsense, nicely thought-out positions on main points,” Wilkinson mentioned. “They like his blunt, no-sugar coated tackle points.”

Through the 2016 election, as an illustration, Clarke known as for Trump supporters to take up “pitchforks and torches” towards Democrats and the media. In 2020, Clarke invited the far-right Proud Boys gang to Wisconsin, backed the ex-president’s false claims of election fraud, and urged Jan. 6 rioters to not cooperate with legislation enforcement.

On different events, Clarke went after teenage survivors of the Parkland mass capturing; in 2018, he was quickly banned from Twitter for calling on his followers to assault members of the media and “MAKE THEM TASTE THEIR OWN BLOOD.”

Throughout his Milwaukee County Sheriff for roughly 15 years, Clarke and his division confronted allegations of abuse of energy—a few of which resulted in lawsuits—and Clarke himself was scrutinized for spending stretches of time away from the county attending occasions and giving speeches. Extra just lately, he was carefully related to Steve Bannon’s venture to crowdfund development of the southern border wall, which resulted in Bannon being indicted for fraud.

Because the 2022 election proved, such a report doesn’t precisely result in electoral success in extremely aggressive states. However Clarke is also toying with the prospect to boost his profile and do different issues.

“If he runs, he’d be political poison for the GOP,” mentioned Charlie Sykes, the longtime Wisconsin conservative pundit and editor-at-large of The Bulwark.

Democrats, in the meantime, would probably love nothing greater than to run towards Clarke.

“If David Clarke needs to place his report of failure and MAGA conspiracy theories up towards Senator Baldwin’s work preventing for Wisconsin households, we’re more than pleased to have that battle,” mentioned Arik Wolk, Speedy Response Director for the Democratic Social gathering of Wisconsin.

Whereas the feedback from Clarke’s camp are the clearest indication but he’s all for a Senate run, some Wisconsin politicos have scrutinized his current strikes for clues to his plans.

After years as a fixture in conservative media—extra so on Newsmax and fringe podcasts than Fox Information, the place he was de facto banned in 2019—Clarke has launched a brand new podcast, titled “Straight Speak With America’s Sheriff David Clarke.”

On the primary episode of the podcast, which was launched on Monday, Clarke reintroduced himself to listeners in a 30-minute monologue—one during which he may have simply been mistaken for an aspiring anti-establishment GOP candidate for Senate.

In between self-recorded adverts for MyPillow bedding and a patriotic model of The Bible, Clarke claimed he predicted Republicans would get “worn out” within the 2022 midterms and blamed it on the institutional GOP. “We don’t have fighters on our aspect,” he mentioned. “The Republican Social gathering is a large number.”

For conservative candidates seeking to burnish their credentials—and underscore to voters they are going to be loyal in Washington—criticizing average GOP senators is a standard main season ploy. And Clarke took care to name out a number of of them by identify throughout his podcast.

“Everybody runs round, at election time, ‘I’m a conservative, I’m a conservative,’” he mentioned. “Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, they don’t seem to be Reagan conservatives, they’re not Goldwater conservatives; they’re RINOs.”

What might need registered most for readers if the Wisconsin tea leaves, nevertheless, was Clarke’s rationalization that he received elected and re-elected as sheriff in a closely Democratic county with voters understanding full nicely he was a conservative—illustration of potential crossover enchantment in a battleground state.

“I used to be a balls-to-the-wall, hardcore, robust on crime legislation enforcement govt,” he mentioned. “And so they rewarded me for it.”

Notably, nevertheless, Clarke ran as a Democrat in all 4 of his elections for Milwaukee County Sheriff, generally defeating a Republican. He defined the affiliation as a matter of necessity to win and claimed it was broadly recognized he was a “rock-solid conservative.” In 2017, he resigned reasonably than search one other time period, with polls displaying that he was in severe political hassle.

Whereas Clarke’s estimation of the GOP’s midterm efficiency will not be mistaken, Wisconsin was a brighter spot for the celebration in 2022. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) defeated Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D), representing the GOP’s solely victory in a core battleground state. Nonetheless, Johnson’s margin of victory was practically the narrowest for any incumbent, and Wisconsin stays one of many nation’s most divided states.

Confronted with a frightening 2024 Senate map—during which they’re defending deep-red states like West Virginia and Montana—Democrats are trusting Baldwin to carry a key seat. Though a staunch progressive, the two-term senator is a confirmed fundraiser, and is coming into marketing campaign season with $3 million within the financial institution.

No notable Republican has but to declare a problem to Baldwin, although Wisconsin has a good roster of potential candidates, together with Reps. Mike Gallagher and Bryan Steil, media character and former Rep. Sean Duffy, together with a number of enterprise group figures.

Joe Zepecki, a Democratic operative, mentioned {that a} pronounced rift in Wisconsin between the institution and outsider wings of the GOP may open a lane for somebody like Clarke. He famous that different staunch Trump allies are rising quieter as 2024 nears, whereas Clarke has been ramping up his presence.

“May it’s a grift and he’s making an attempt to make a buck? Completely,” Zepecki mentioned. “It doesn’t imply he’s not contemplating working. It’s as actual as anybody else.”