Some Michigan sheriffs in charge of enforcing the law in their counties have gotten heavily involved in a heated presidential race, drawing criticism from opponents who argue the politicking — often done in uniform — has gone too far.

From both sides of the aisle, sheriffs, who are elected on a partisan basis in Michigan, have been attempting to navigate a challenging political climate. Some have exercised their freedom to endorse candidates, while one sheriff used government resources for a campaign event to make a political contribution that’s now under investigation over its legality.

Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy, a Republican, used his government email account in August to help organize a campaign event for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump that took place inside a sheriff’s department garage, according to documents obtained by The Detroit News through an open records request.

“What the hell fellas?” Murphy wrote to two Trump campaign employees on Aug. 14, six days before Trump’s appearance inside the Livingston County government garage.

“This went from a small little informal event to 1,500 people,” Murphy wrote. “I can’t hold a political rally at my shop.”

Murphy was responding to a notification from the U.S. Secret Service that there were “1,500 invited guests” planned for Trump’s Aug. 20 visit to the Livingston County sheriff’s building. Murphy replied that if the crowd was “1,500 or frankly, even 500, I’m out.”

Thomas, a Trump campaign employee whose last name was redacted, responded to Murphy, saying the 1,500 number was a miscommunication.

“…(W)e are looking to do a tour / meeting at the station & give remarks to the press & some invited guests,” Thomas wrote to Murphy.

Murphy replied to the campaign staffers on Aug. 14, again from his government email account, “Thanks fellas.”

On Aug. 20, about 60 invited guests ended up attending Trump’s presentation, which was supposed to focus on public safety, inside the Livingston County garage. The arrangement led to at least two complaints that alleged Murphy had violated state campaign finance regulations.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections is investigating the legality of the sheriff hosting Trump but hadn’t resolved the complaints as Oct. 9, according to its publicly available records.

State law specifically bans a government body from using “funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies or other public resources” to make a campaign contribution or expenditure.

Murphy has previously said he doesn’t believe he violated the law and welcomed the investigation by state election regulators.

In early October, Murphy said he believed hosting a campaign rally would be a violation of campaign finance policies. However, he argued, “an invite only press conference not open to the general public” would be legal.

In an interview in September, Murphy contended that sheriffs were “kind of given a lot of latitude in what we can do and how political we want to be.”

However, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, a fellow Republican who has served in his position for about 25 years, said that he wouldn’t allow a campaign event to take place in county government buildings his office controls.

“We don’t do anything campaign on our property,” Bouchard said.

‘I believed in what I said’

In addition to Murphy hosting Trump on Aug. 20, about a dozen Michigan sheriffs participated in an April discussion about immigration policy with Trump in Grand Rapids, where the GOP candidate spoke on the topic inside a convention center.

During that event, Trump argued that a spike in crossings at the southern border was “country changing” and defended his use of the word “animals” to describe illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson spoke, while wearing his uniform, at the Democratic National Convention in August in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee. He also appeared in an ad for President Joe Biden in June, when Biden was still seeking reelection.

Meanwhile, Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole and Murphy appeared in uniform in separate campaign ads from the National Republican Senatorial Committee in opposition to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin.

“Michigan law enforcement needs a U.S. senator who has our back,” Cole said in his ad. “Elissa Slotkin fails that test.”

One of Cole’s constituents, Michael Drzik of Ludington, penned a response to the ad in the local newspaper, the Ludington Daily News, saying Cole’s appearance in the ad was “distasteful” and “misleading.”

“Sheriff Cole using his position to essentially tell us who we need to vote for or against is wrong,” Drzik wrote.

Asked if there’s any risk to Michigan sheriffs getting involved in political races, other than their own, Swanson said every sheriff has to make their own decision. Sheriffs have unique positions where they are part of law enforcement but they also have to run for office while declaring membership of a particular party. Swanson is a Democrat and potential 2026 candidate for governor.

“I felt no risk,” Swanson said of wading into the presidential race. “I believed in what I said.”

‘Not how we operate’

Swanson said he wore his uniform to the Democratic National Convention because it’s part of his professional role, similar to a doctor sporting a white coat.

But he acknowledged, like Bouchard, he would not allow a campaign to hold an event inside his Genesee County government offices.

Murphy participated in Trump’s appearance inside the Livingston County government building on Aug. 20. During the event, a small group of sheriffs stood behind the GOP presidential nominee including Murphy, Cole and Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott.

The Trump campaign promoted the visit as a speech on crime and safety.

“President Donald J. Trump knows the people of Michigan and the rest of the country can’t take another four years of weak, soft-on-crime leadership,” a press release from the Trump campaign said Aug. 17 about the event.

During the event, the three sheriffs gave speeches, and Abbott, whose home county is about a two-hour drive from Howell, called on people to “make the obvious choice” and “reelect Donald Trump.” Murphy told the crowd he was praying “the United States will take a page out of the Livingston County playbook and elect the right people come November.”

The Livingston County Post reported the campaign function cost county taxpayers $40,103 with expenses for building closures and overtime pay.

In a September interview, Murphy predicted that if his constituents were polled about whether his office — including deputies, detectives and other staff doing their jobs day to day — were “political,” the answer would be no “across the board.”

“We don’t look at somebody and say, ‘Oh, well, you got a Harris sign in your yard, so I’m not going to take your break-in report,’ or ‘Yeah, I’ll take it, but I’m not going to do a good job,’” Murphy said.

“That’s not how we operate. Because we did take an oath to provide a service and then enforce the laws, and we do that regardless.”

Part of a trend?

Michigan sheriffs have the right to state their opinions, but they can’t use public resources to do campaign events, said Mark Brewer, an election lawyer and former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.

Using government property to prepare a government building for a campaign rally or using a government vehicle to drive to a campaign event could be legally problematic, Brewer said.

A sheriff appearing in uniform at a campaign event could leave viewers with the wrong impression that a government agency is endorsing a candidate, he added.

Democratic nominee Harris recently held a campaign stop at a Redford Township fire station. The township’s fire chief, Scott Demoff, didn’t immediately respond to a request for an interview about the event.

Some sheriffs’ political actions seemed to be an outgrowth of Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, a supporter of Trump, using his office to conduct a years-long investigation of the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Biden, Brewer said.

“I think this is part of a trend,” Brewer said.

In his uniform, Leaf appeared in the crowd at a Trump campaign rally in Potterville in August. Potterville is not located in Barry County.

Matthew Saxton, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs Association, said it’s not out of the ordinary for sheriffs in the state to get involved in campaigns. However, he acknowledged that their actions might seem to be a bit more in the “forefront” this year.

“Sheriffs themselves are in the political process to begin with,” Saxton noted, mentioning that all 83 county sheriff positions are on the ballot this fall.

On whether sheriffs should host campaign events in their government offices, Saxton said sheriffs often have to provide security for candidates when they visit somewhere in Michigan.

“What better place to keep the candidate safe than at the sheriff’s office instead of a pole barn that they would still end up having to staff?” Saxton asked.

Ultimately, Saxton said, the question of whether what happened in Livingston County in August was legal would be up to the Michigan Bureau of Elections.

A Bouchard proposal

Asked about the sheriffs’ involvement in competitive campaigns this fall, Bouchard said he would like to see Michigan policies changed so sheriffs are elected on a nonpartisan basis.

“We don’t answer the phone, ‘911, what’s your party?’” Bouchard said. “We answer it, ‘911, what’s the nature of your emergency.’

“We protect and serve everybody. I think we ought to be nonpartisan officeholders, just like judges.”

Bouchard made the comments as he stood at an Oct. 2 campaign event for Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance inside an Auburn Hills business. But Bouchard said he was there as part of providing public safety, and he was not wearing his uniform.

Both Bouchard and Saxton referenced a legislative proposal that’s been privately circulated in Lansing, but not formally introduced, to make sheriffs nonpartisan positions. Saxton said a majority of Michigan’s sheriffs would support such a proposal.

Republican state Rep. Brian BeGole, a former Shiawassee County sheriff, said there have been talks of such a bill but he didn’t know which lawmaker was considering introducing it.

BeGole said he sees some merit in the idea, but he also understands that many people don’t do their research before voting and the partisan label next to a candidate’s name provides them with at least some information.

The GOP lawmaker has sponsored his own bill to require sheriffs to have minimum levels of law enforcement experience.

Sheriffs know their communities better than anybody else, BeGole said.

“In this climate,” he said, “I think sheriffs need to weigh in on who they support.”