Bouchard was born in Flint, Michigan.[3] After graduating from Brother Rice High School in 1974, Bouchard attended Michigan State University majoring in criminal justice and police administration. Upon graduation Bouchard entered local law enforcement where he remained for thirteen years.
Bouchard was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1991. He resigned as senator and majority floor leader in the Michigan State Senate when he was appointed Oakland County Sheriff in January 1999 following the untimely death of long time Sheriff John F. Nichols in December 1998.
Bouchard has served two terms as President of the Major County Sheriffs' Association, which is composed of sheriffs who serve in counties or parishes with a population of 500,000 or more. Bouchard is currently the organization's Vice President of Government Affairs.[4]
In 2007, Bouchard endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries. Romney went on to win the primary vote in Oakland County.
Bouchard ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 2006. He won the Republican nomination with 60 percent of the vote, but then lost to Debbie Stabenow, the incumbent Democratic senator.
In November 2012, Bouchard was elected to his fourth consecutive term as Oakland County Sheriff by an overwhelming majority, the largest number of votes cast for any candidate in Oakland County.[5]
In 2019 he was named a Michigan Master Sheriff, in recognition of his 33 years of service.[6]
2010 gubernatorial race
Bouchard joined businessman Rick Snyder, state Senator Tom George, Congressman Peter Hoekstra and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox as Republican candidates. Bouchard finished fourth out of five candidates in the primary, receiving 127,350 votes of the 1,044,925 votes cast.
