Early results in the Lexington County sheriff's race

Early results from the Lexington County sheriff's race show incumbent Sheriff Jeff Koon leading the race for another four-year term as the county's top cop.

Koon received 65 percent of the vote with nearly 40 percent of precincts in Lexington County. This represents a large lead in the Republican primary over Billy Warren's 28% and Alan Driggers' 6%.

The June 11 primary is all but assured to determine who will be Lexington County's top police officer for the next four years.

Koon, who has served as county sheriff since winning a special election in 2015 and later won two full terms, faces two challengers, both of whom have centered their campaigns on whether the department is doing everything as it can to address staffing challenges and ensure the safety of the growing county's residents into the future.

One of the challengers, Driggers, retired as a Lexington sheriff's lieutenant after 24 years with the department. The other, Warren, is a former Lexington deputy and 32-year veteran of the State Highway Patrol.

The winner of the race will serve for the next four years and be responsible for protecting residents in unincorporated areas of the county of about 305,000, as well as assisting the small police departments maintained by many of the largest municipalities. rural areas of the county. The sheriff currently receives $145,621, according to the latest salary survey conducted by the SC Association of Counties.

If no candidate reaches the 50% plus one vote standard required in South Carolina when ballots are counted, a runoff between the top two candidates will take place in two weeks.

Another Republican challenger, Garry Rozier, entered the race but was excluded from the ballot by the SC Republican Party due to a residency issue. Rozier, who served 40 years in the state Highway Patrol before later joining the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the county Sheriff's Department, had been actively campaigning for sheriff since 2022.

Rozier challenged the decision to exclude him from the ballot in court, but unsuccessfully; his appeal remained pending as election day approached.

Despite being shut out of the Republican primary, it appears Rozier will continue to serve as sheriff. He could not be reached for comment, but he posted on Facebook on June 1 appealing to his supporters.

“I am asking for your support for this sheriff election,” he posted. ” It's time to change. I pray every day to our God to be with us in this election.

There was no option to register a candidate in the June primary, but Rozier was able to run as a write-in candidate in November, unhindered by the pledge signed by primary participants not to run against the winner of the primary. If he won in November, it's unclear what would happen next.

“He will still have to have his qualifications certified,” said John Michael Catalano, public information officer for the S.C. Elections Commission. “It is simply unclear who would be responsible for certifying his qualifications at this point, as he is not a party candidate. The electoral authority certifies the candidates for the petition, but it remains rather silent on the written registrations. If he won a write-in campaign, there would likely be more lawsuits and a court would decide what happens.