As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump barnstorm Michigan, law enforcement costs add up

Michigan’s status as a closely contested swing state makes it a popular destination for both presidential candidates and their running mates, but it comes at a price.

Those visits often have state and local police, as well as county sheriffs working overtime to augment the Secret Service agents who protect the candidates.

The campaigns do not reimburse those costs, which add up over time.

A Free Press analysis shows that the two contenders and their running mates have made 33 stops in Michigan since February. That comes out to about one every eight days, not counting the four stops President Joe Biden made before leaving the race.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will make five more stops in Michigan on Friday.

So far, Wayne County has hosted 13 stops and Kent County has hosted eight. Both will see those totals rise Friday. Other stops have been scattered around the state.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office couldn't provide specific figures but said it pays for the service out of its regular budget.

"As a law enforcement agency, we respond to local and state level agencies should they need us," spokesman Ed Foxworth said.

By late last month, Kent County, home of Grand Rapids, had incurred more than $300,000 in expenses, said Assistant County Administrator Lori Latham.

“We anticipate additional expenses as we expect more visits leading up to the election,” she said. “Although we do not have a dedicated fund for these unforeseen costs, we use overtime and contingency funds to manage such unexpected expenditures.”

Latham said safety is a top priority so the county will continue to partner with other law enforcement to cover candidate visits.

Grand Rapids police help at events as well and city spokesman David Green said the department is familiar with hosting large events and candidate visits are among them.

“We don’t have a specific budget for political campaigns but instead account for any event support that might occur as part of our annual budget and planning process,” Green said.

Michigan State Police said much the same thing.

"MSP does provide support to the Secret Service for presidential visits," spokesperson Shanon Banner said. "We do consider this type of security assistance to be one of our roles for which we are funded."

Some communities are better equipped to handle a presidential candidate visit than others, said Bob Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.

"The degree of the burden sometimes depends on the size of the city and their experience with it," Stevenson said. "You take a town like Dearborn or Detroit or Battle Creek. They have lots of people, they can probably divert a lot of their working people for that short period of time, and it's not a problem. But you take some of the smaller cities, not only are they already short staffed, but now you've got to somehow come up with people."

Stevenson said the burden can be bigger, depending on where the event is taking place.

"When you have a motorcade come into town, they don't just drive through," he said. "You've got to stop overpasses. You have to stop entrances and exits. So it's not just a matter of where they speak."

Oakland County has hosted visits from Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump, both of whom will be in the county again Friday.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard said they've been tasked with helping secure other visits that aren't made public, including candidate spouses and members of Congress, especially those in leadership positions.

"We provide it when we get asked by other agencies," Bouchard said, noting those could be the Secret Service, the Capitol Police or other groups. Bouchard couldn't put a figure on how much his department has spent but said it's easily "tens of thousands of dollars."

"We don't want to be in a position where we don't provide what's requested or needed," Bouchard said. "We don't want to be the place where something bad happens. So we protect either party with equal vigor."

Bouchard said when a visit is scheduled, the office deals with it.

"We don't want to pull too much from our daily capabilities and leave us in a spot we don't want to be," he said. "We manage to flex and overtime, and we'll do different things, but it costs a lot of money, and it's been kind of a bone of contention for a long time."

Bouchard had long advocated for federal reimbursement for the expenses that local departments incur on these details.

"I think it's reasonable for the federal government to think about having a pot of money for the locals," Bouchard said. "Maybe we don't get 100% reimbursement but you know, this is outside of our control. It's unpredictable and all of a sudden they're showing up saying we need 60 or so of your people, plus helicopters, plus, plus, plus."

Contact John Wisely: [email protected]. On X @jwisely

This story was updated to add a video.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Trump, Harris visit Michigan, security costs add up