Smyth County Sheriff Chip Shuler, who was elected as a Democrat in 2015, said in a statement that he’s switching parties because, according to him, police officers have faced attacks from Democrat politicians in Virginia and nationwide."I am changing to the Republican Party because of the relentless attack on law enforcement by Democrats in Richmond and Washington," Shuler said in his statement last week. "My deputies work hard to serve and protect the citizens of Smyth County. As sheriff, it has been difficult to watch my deputies try to move forward during this unprecedented assault on our profession. We remain an honorable profession, and should not be judged by the bad acts of a few. I have always been a conservative throughout my law enforcement career of 38 years."
Amen to that, brother.
Shuler is now the third sheriff in Virginia to make the switch in the past year or so, according to the chairman of Smyth County Republican Party, Adam Tolbert. He noted that Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt and Buchanan County Sheriff John McClanahan switched to the GOP several months ago.
"I’m not saying our locally elected Democratic officials are bad. What has upset me is on the state and national level," he said at the time, according to local media. "I think our locally elected Democrats truly care for our people in Tazewell County, but the ones in the state and national level do not care about our citizens.