According to The Washington Times, more than 100 current or former police officers are running for office this November. Almost all of the candidates are Republican. Most want to serve in state legislatures, while others have their eyes set on Congress.
Lt. Randy Sutton, founder of The Wounded Blue, says they are tired of being scapegoated for things they have not done, and they cannot stand to see what has become of the communities they swore to serve and protect.
"The left's continued attacks on law enforcement through defunding, demoralizing, [and] dehumanizing are continuing," Sutton laments. "They are not abating."
He thinks these police officers' decision to run for office is a "demonstration of what our system is supposed to be."
Sutton also says it is in a police officer's DNA to run toward gunfire. And considering the dumpster fire that America's inner cities have become, he submits that in running for office, these officers are showing that same courage.
The officers, some of whom have never run for office before, have tagged the movement as "the common sense wave."
"Law enforcement officers are very mission oriented," Sutton continues. "That's why they're good at a lot of other jobs once they leave police work, because they're focused on getting something done."
The Washington Times notes that "the officers running for election have largely paralleled the Republican Party's broader strategy of labeling Democrats as soft on crime. It is an argument the GOP believes will win them control of the House and Senate in November at a time when America is awash in violent crime."
Sutton recognizes that they do have their work cut out for them.
"They've got a ton of money behind them," he says regarding the anti-police activists and politicians. "They've got George Soros shoring them up with millions and millions of dollars, and these guys are going up as a brand-new politician."
Crime, Jeff Mordock writes in his Washington Times piece, has "long been a political liability for Democrats," and the GOP messaging has put them on the defensive. Several top Democrats have scrambled to distance themselves from the defund-the-police movement, including President Biden, who has called for more cops on the streets.
At the same time, the emphasis on crime has sparked criticism that the officers are single-issue candidates and are avoiding tougher political fights on issues like inflation and abortion. The officers, however, strongly reject such criticism.
