Doug Traubel

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Doug Traubel

Constitution Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Bonita Vista High School

Bachelor's

San Diego State University, 1989

Personal

Birthplace

Pennsylvania

Religion

Baptist Christian

Profession

Investigator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

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Doug Traubel (Constitution Party) ran for election for Ada County Sheriff in Idaho. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Traubel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Doug Traubel was born in Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University in 1989. His career experience includes working as an investigator. He has been affiliated with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Ada County, Idaho (2024)

General election

General election for Ada County Sheriff

Incumbent Matthew Clifford defeated Doug Traubel in the general election for Ada County Sheriff on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Clifford (R)	76.3	176,227
		Doug Traubel (Constitution Party)	23.7	54,673

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 230,900
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Victor McCraw (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ada County Sheriff

Victor McCraw advanced from the Democratic primary for Ada County Sheriff on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Victor McCraw	100.0	13,111

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,111
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ada County Sheriff

Incumbent Matthew Clifford advanced from the Republican primary for Ada County Sheriff on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Clifford	100.0	36,714

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,714
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Constitution primary election

Constitution primary for Ada County Sheriff

Doug Traubel advanced from the Constitution primary for Ada County Sheriff on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Doug Traubel	100.0	123

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 123
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Traubel in this election.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Ada County, Idaho (2022)

General election

Special general election for Ada County Sheriff

Incumbent Matthew Clifford defeated Victor McCraw in the special general election for Ada County Sheriff on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Clifford (R)	58.8	105,042
	Submit photo	Victor McCraw (D)	41.2	73,461

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 178,503
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for Ada County Sheriff

Victor McCraw advanced from the special Democratic primary for Ada County Sheriff on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Victor McCraw	100.0	12,799

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,799
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for Ada County Sheriff

Incumbent Matthew Clifford defeated Doug Traubel in the special Republican primary for Ada County Sheriff on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Clifford	65.6	41,151
		Doug Traubel	34.4	21,623

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,774
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Doug Traubel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Traubel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a thirty-two-year veteran peace officer (ret). In 1984 I began my career in Chula Vista, California, seven miles from the U.S. − Mexico border. My assignments included patrol officer, field training officer, SWAT team, and Street Team (a proactive patrol unit that targeted gangs and series related crimes i.e. robbery and other special enforcement projects).

I graduated from The San Diego County Sheriff’s Academy in 1986. On the first day of instruction I attended a lecture from Sheriff John Duffy on the history, role and unique authority held by the Constitutional Office of Sheriff. It was then that he developed a reverence for the Office and an understanding of the necessary and substantive differences between Sheriffs, Chiefs of Police and Federal “law enforcement.”

In 1994 I transferred to the Ada County Sheriff's Office. I worked in patrol, detectives, the civil section, jail, the first SRO at the newly built Eagle High, and wrote the proposal forming the first Gang Unit. From 2003 to 2019 I served as a criminal investigator for the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. A collateral duty was firearms instructor. I developed a dynamic scenario-based program.

Ada County must be served with more capable and accountable leadership to fight crime more effectively and guard the public trust.

I authored two books: Can They Do That? How Police Get Around the Fourth Amendment and Red Badge A Veteran Peace Officer's Commentary. Visit Dougforsheriff.com

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• The Bill of Rights are non-partisan. The Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the County. Baked into his oath is a duty to defend the rights of the one true minority in a Constitutional Republic: The individual – not groups of individuals. I do not bow to the loudest voices or largest crowds. In the Book of Acts we see the status of a citizen when Paul who is about to be whipped asks the Roman Officer, “Is this how you treat a Roman citizen?” I see everyone as Paul with equal value and accountability under the law.
• The “War on Police” must be countered with bold leadership rooted in real police experience and knowledge of the Marxist strategies undermining our quality of life and liberties nationally. We see the condition of areas of the country where chaos fills the law enforcement leadership vacuum. My objective is to “Stop the Slide to Seattle” by reshaping the culture of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office through an oath-centered lens, to be more effective in the detection and suppression of crime, more accountable to the public trust and dependent on volunteers in the roles of reserve deputies and posse members.
• Readiness and Constitutional Rights.

  I will build a reputation for Law and Order in Ada County that reaches Portland. Generational Idahoans and new residents alike voted with their feet that it is better here than “woke,” crime ridden, broken places across the country. We are one crisis away from being tested.

  My oath is not to a person: not a judge, a mayor, the governor, and not to the president. My oath is to the Idaho and U.S. Constitutions. The Bill of Rights are the untouchables. I will defend your God-given rights.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Trust. Law enforcement is confrontational by nature. Every day, deputies and officers bravely intervene and detain people for suspicious and anti-social behavior. Every contact either builds or erodes the public trust which is fragile and precious. While bad optics to the untrained eye does not necessarily equate to bad police work, there are egregious acts. The Sheriff must own them, discipline accordingly, and improve training for better performance in the future. The total lack of accountability following the wrongful arrest and abuse of 70-year-old Michael Heikkola in Kuna by Ada County Sgt. Keen is a costly example.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father. He has passed away, but I remember his example as a bold doer and an optimist.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

You can get inside my head by reading two books I authored:

Can They Do That? How Police Get Around the Fourth Amendment.

Red Badge--A Veteran Peace Officer's Commentary on the Marxist Subversion of American Law Enforcement & Culture

Both are on Amazon.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Article VI of the Constitution for the United States requires the oath of office. Baked into that is The Doctrine of Lesser Magistrate -- a duty to interpose between the citizen and overreach. This country would be unrecognizable by the Founders for lack of office holders not honoring their oath thereby allowing powers not delegated to be assumed.

Accountability is the second most important principle. The public trust is fragile and precious.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Foremost, I do not need the job. I am motivated to serve because of what I see evolving, namely more crime and the hindsight of our liberties stepped on during COVID. I believe I have the right blend of real crime fighting experience, the understanding of what "the oath in action" looks like and the education to lead the office into the future

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The effective detection and suppression of crime balanced with the protection of the rights and dignity of the citizen.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I raised the public's expectation of the Office of Sheriff to treat them as citizens, not subjects

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The bi-centennial. I lived in Philadelphia in 1976. I was twelve and could feel the pride and our rich history.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Picking up balls at a driving range at age 15. I did that for maybe three months until I turned 16 and then went across the street to a nursery watering plants and unloading trucks

What is your favorite book? Why?

Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand defends the characters and principles brilliantly in the defense of the Free Market.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Captain Kirk

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Take It All Back by Tauren Wells

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Getting wrapped around the axel over principles. Age has made be better at choosing battles.

Tell us your favorite joke.

n/a

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

The Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Assoc.
Larry Kendrick, Owyhee County Sheriff

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Part of this answer is found in Art 8. Sec 3 of our state Constitution on County Indebtedness. My oath requires I follow that requirement.

As a county employee I was always bothered when administration pressured special units I served in to spend "left over" funds from the previous fiscal year when there was no need. The system is corrupt in the sense that it is not designed to return unused money. Government is like a self-licking ice cream cone.

An example of my fiscal responsibility is to bring back the Reserve Deputy Program. This doubles the capability of a patrol car without doubling the burden to the taxpayer. Similarly, erecting a posse program allows me to tap in to lower trained volunteers for a variety of anticipated and unanticipated needs.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Doug Traubel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

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