Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke won't run for Senate and calls group trying to draft him a 'scam PAC'

Patrick Marley
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said Friday he won’t challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and called a group trying to draft him into the race a “scam PAC.”

“I want to put this to a rest because it’s becoming a distraction. No, I’m not running for Senate,” Clarke told Vicki McKenna of WISN-AM (1130).

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.

Out-of-state groups have been raising money to try to get Clarke into the race, including one led by Duane “Dog” Chapman and Beth Chapman from the reality TV show “Dog the Bounty Hunter.”

“It’s a scam PAC really,” said Clarke. “They don’t need my permission to do it.”

Clarke, a conservative who runs for sheriff as a Democrat, said he regularly hears from people who think he’s running and are interested in donating to efforts to help him beat Baldwin.

“Every time I turn around, I talk to people and say, ‘No, I’m not running for Senate, hang onto your money,' ” said Clarke.

A call and email to the Draft Sheriff Clarke for U.S. Senate committee were not immediately returned Friday. The group says on its website that it "is duly registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and is in every way a legal Super PAC and Draft Committee."

Clarke in May announced on McKenna's show he would take a job with President Donald Trump’s administration as an assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security. He said last month he had withdrawn his name from consideration for that job and said Friday he planned to stay put.

“I’m interested in being the sheriff of Milwaukee County, period,” he told McKenna.

State Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield), businessman Eric Hovde and businessman Kevin Nicholson are considering running against Baldwin next year.