Montana sheriff on leaving Democratic Party, running for re-election as a Republican
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter says Democratic policies and the 'radical defund law enforcement' movement are reasons why he wants to switch parties.
A sheriff in Montana explained on "The Faulkner Focus" on Wednesday the "simple" reason why he decided to leave the Democratic Party and run for re-election as a Republican.
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter quoted former President Ronald Reagan, who also switched parties, and said that he "never left the Democratic Party, they left me."
Slaughter explained to host Harris Faulkner that Democratic policies, the "radical defund law enforcement" movement and "now, in my county, we have elected officials and candidates who are aligning themselves with Antifa," are reasons why he wants to switch parties.
Slaughter noted that "we have a relatively safe community" and are "not suffering from what Chicago and my partners in the Northwest are suffering with, but we don’t want to go there either."
In Chicago over the weekend, at least 54 people were wounded and eight were killed in dozens of shootings and other incidents reported throughout the city, police said Monday.
Slaughter also pointed to the situations in Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore., stressing that "those areas are suffering horrific, horrific violence" and that there has been an anti-law enforcement sentiment "everywhere."
Last summer, downtown protestors created a police-free area near downtown Seattle, calling it the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or CHOP zone.
In Portland, more than 150 consecutive nights of riots took place in the city following the death of George Floyd in police custody in May 2020.
Slaughter pointed out the "key thing" he said he believes is "important" about the situations in those areas, noting that officers there are leaving and going to other communities, like Cascade County
"And what about those poor citizens? What about the citizens that are left there?" he then asked.
"It seems like the Democrats' solution to everything is gun control," Slaughter continued. "Let’s take the arms away from the citizens and then let’s disrespect and defund law enforcement and somehow that’s going to be the solution."
"What’s their endgame? Who’s going to enforce the law?" he then asked.
Slaughter went on to note that he doesn’t believe that the majority of Americans do not want to defund the police.
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"The majority of America does not want this," he went on to stress. "They don’t believe in defunding the police. They know we need them. The fact of the matter is, is that we are the citizens, the citizens are us."
He also stressed that "in my community we stand for law and order and we expect our criminals to be held accountable to maintain public safety."
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Sheriffs in other states have switched parties as well, including a sheriff in Pennsylvania, Fayette County Sheriff James Custer, who told "Fox & Friends" in December that he changed his political affiliation to Republican because of the "shift in ideals of the Democratic Party at the national level," including a "socialist agenda."
Fox News’ Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
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