Michael Stansfield never expected to be a major player in California politics when he threw his hat into a congressional race as a Republican agitating for peace in the Middle East.

California’s congressional primaries were a preliminary test of Democrats’ best chance at countering Republican redistricting gains elsewhere this year.

The sheriff of the nation’s fifth-largest county on Tuesday defied a new policy to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, setting up a showdown over a new obstacle to President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.