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Bergen GOP Sheriff Saudino Switching To Democrat For Re-Election Run

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Republican Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino will formally announce Friday that he's switching to the Democratic Party to run for a third term this fall, a law enforcement source close to the sheriff told Daily Voice.

Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino

Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Bergen County Sheriff

Saudino, who is in his second term as sheriff, "works well with the Democrats," the source said. "He can't say the same about all Republicans."

Representatives of the Bergen County Conference of the Policemen’s Benevolent Association were planning to attend a 3 p.m. news conference was tentatively planned for the steps of the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, where Saudino has his office, the source said.

The sheriff -- who didn't return texts or phone messages Thursday night -- has worked closely with Democrat County Executive James Tedesco, whom he called "the right man for the job" when he defeated Saudino nemesis Kathleen Donovan in 2014.

Saudino will be running in a presidential election year.

The news also comes a little over a week after one of the presidential candidates, GOP Gov. Chris Christie, installed former Assistant U.S. Attorney Gurbir Grewal to replace outgoing Democrat Prosecutor John L. Molinelli. As an agent of the Attorney General's Office, the prosecutor is considered the county's top lawman.

A former Emerson police chief, Saudino runs the county jail, courthouse security and a variety of specialized squads and divisions that include patrol services, a bomb squad, a K-9 unit and the Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collects evidence in a majority of crimes countywide.

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