Aria DiMezzo joined the Cheshire County, New Hampshire Republican Party two days before the candidate deadline, after learning that their previous nominee, Earl Nelson, was no longer going to run. DiMezzo had previously run against Nelson — and the five-term incumbent Democratic sheriff, Eli Rivera — on the Libertarian ticket in 2018.
And now, DiMezzo, a self-described Satanist Anarchist who uses they/them pronouns and used "Fuck the Police" as their official campaign slogan, has officially secured the Republican Party nomination for county sheriff.
"More than 4,000 people went into the voting booth on September 8 this week, and they all filled in the circle by my name despite knowing absolutely nothing about the person they were nominating to the most powerful law enforcement position in the county," they wrote in a blogpost celebrating (read: explaining) their victory. "That's a level of recklessness of which any decent human being should be ashamed."
They continued:
I went into it expecting that I would lose the primary to a write-in candidate, because I didn't think that so many voters were just… completely and totally oblivious about who they are voting for.
Because the fact is that you didn't bother. You trusted the system. You trusted the establishment. You trusted the party. You felt safe. You were sure that there must be some mechanisms in place to prevent from occurring exactly what just occurred. Your anger is misplaced if you direct it at me. Please listen. Your anger is with the system that has lied to you. Your anger is with the system that convinced you to believe in it, trust in it, and have faith in it, when it is completely and utterly broken.
[…]
I'm running for sheriff because I oppose that very system, and the sheriff has the most hands-on ability in Cheshire County to oppose that system. The system that let you down by allowing me–the freaking transsexual Satanist anarchist–be your sheriff candidate is the same system I'm attacking. I'm sorry, and I know it hurts to hear, but that system is a lie. The entire thing is a lie. It's broken from beginning to end, and my existence as your sheriff candidate is merely how this reality was thrown into your face.
A few voters who were aware of DiMezzo's gender, religion, and political beliefs tried to rally together a write-in campaign for the local GOP's former candidate, Earl Nelson. But they only secured about 200 votes, compared to the more than 4,000 people who voted for DiMezzo — most of whom, DiMezzo believes, only voted for them because their name was on the ballot.
After the election victory was announced, someone vandalized DiMezzo's car. "However, claiming vandalism with my insurance company requires me to go to the police," DiMezzo wrote in a follow-up blogpost. "I imagine the police are not very much disposed to assist me on anything right now, and that's just a glaring flaw in the entire system. I'm also running a campaign about exactly how the police shouldn't be contacted for minor things like this, so…"
DiMezzo goes on to claim that their bank accounts have coincidentally been frozen, further complicating the situation. They did express their gratitude, however, that the bank didn't make them wear a mask.
According to Free Keene:
When not running for Sheriff, DiMezzo is a nationally syndicated talk show host on "Free Talk Live", which is heard on over 190 radio stations across the United States. She (sic) also teaches people how to sell Bitcoin and has extensive experience in helping connect people with cryptocurrency.
'Transsexual Satanist anarchist' wins GOP nomination for NH county sheriff [J. Edward Moreno / The Hill]
Trans sheriff candidate says car vandalized after story goes viral [Damien Fisher / New Hampshire Union Leader]
"She-Male" Defeats Longtime Republican Candidate to Face Incumbent Democrat for Sheriff in General Election [Free Keene]