WASHINGTON, February 7, 2017 – Wisconsin’s incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin may have a formidable opponent in Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke. Nate Pendley, a North Carolina attorney who has long worked in conservative politics approached Clarke about a potential U.S. Senate bid saying in interviews that Clarke would “Represent a lot of the positive, conservative fighter, bare knuckles kind of politician who won’t take anything from the left.”
Campaign finance reports from the Milwaukee County Election Commission show that Clarke has raised close to $48,000 for a re-election bid as sheriff. Nevertheless, supporters are still fighting to convince Clarke to explore a run against the incumbent senator.
The Super PAC has already received thousands of signatures.
“Sheriff Clarke has not looked at a 2018 bid because he is focused on his job with the county and aiding the transition for President-elect Donald Trump,” a political adviser told ABC WISN-12 in an email statement Jan. 19.
Sheriff Clarke is aware of the movement, which was started last month by an advisory board of nine people including a former lawmaker and reality tv star Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman. An attorney on the PAC believes Clarke can defeat Baldwin.
This is OUR day! The hour is at hand.
It is what we worked for, fought for, prayed for. The inauguration of Donald Trump to be 45th POTUS pic.twitter.com/hS6J73tRmL— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) January 20, 2017
The deadline to appear on the 2018 Senate ballot is June 1, 2018, with the primary being held in August and the general election on November 11, 2017. Sheriff Clarke’s current Milwaukee County term ends the summer of 2018. Clarke is currently a registered Democrat, despite the support for President Trump, WISN reported. The Super PAC is not sponsored by Clarke.
