Monroe County Sheriff Wesley Revels had planned to retire and backed his chief deputy, Chris Weaver, in the August Republican primary. Instead, former jail sergeant Mike Krause won that primary with more than 63 percent of the vote, 3,697 to 2,147.
Revels is now running as a write-in candidate in next month's general election. He said supporters asked what he could do, and that he is concerned Krause would not be a qualified candidate for voters and for employees at the sheriff's office.
Krause called the reversal embarrassing in a written statement, saying it ignores the voters' decision in the primary. He said he won by running a clean campaign and not attacking his opponent.
Much of the dispute centers on a 2008 filing in Krause's divorce in which he declared himself independent of the United States, beginning with the words 'I deny I am a U.S. citizen.' Weaver asked the county clerk to remove Krause from the ballot over that filing, and the clerk denied the request. Revels has questioned how Krause could take an oath to the Constitution, while Krause has pointed to the 10th Amendment.
Revels has also raised a federal Hatch Act concern, based on a report about political activity on duty in the jail earlier this year. Krause announced his campaign on April 9 and resigned from the department on April 21, after working there from 2023. In a rebuttal on his campaign website, Krause said the policy at issue had not been presented or explained to the officers involved.
Revels, 67, has worked in law enforcement for more than 40 years, was first elected sheriff in 2018, and previously served as Tomah police chief. Krause, 55, has worked in law enforcement since 2004, owns a gym in Tomah, and is campaigning on fiscal responsibility, community relations and transparency. Monroe County has about 46,000 residents and about 25,000 registered voters.
