Incumbents win primary in school
board, county commission races,
some by slim margins
Sheriff Mark Buchanan
By Becky Long
Publisher
Mark Buchanan sailed past fellow candidates to seal the sheriff’s election, and the office, in Tuesday’s primary. Meanwhile incumbents on the commission and school boards won the majority vote, though one race was by a sliver of a margin.
Buchanan showed a substantial lead early on. The margin continued to expand to 1,826 after all nine of the county’s precincts reported. Fellow candidate and former sheriff, Joe Shook came in second with 605 votes followed by George Elver with 215.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of my supporters for making our vision for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office a soon-to-be reality. It’s been a year of hard work for everyone which has paid off with a resounding win tonight,” Buchanan said. “
The sheriff’s candidates were all on the Republican ticket with no contenders from the Democratic Party. Buchanan’s name will still be on the November general election ballot, but he will have no competition in the race and will officially take on the sheriff’s role after the December swearing in of officials.
“I want to thank my wife and family for the decades of support and patience throughout my law enforcement career. I want to especially thank my family for being willing to support this new undertaking as Clay County Sheriff.”
Buchanan pointed out that the real work will soon begin. “I look forward to fulfilling the promises I’ve made during this year-long campaign. Together we can all keep Clay County a safe and prosperous place to live, raise our families and enjoy life.”
While the majority of voters favored incumbents over newcomers in the county commission and school board races, the margins for the third seat on both boards were moderate to thin.
School Board Chairman Jason Shook won handily with 1,637 votes while fellow incumbent Kelly Crawford was re-elected with 1,424 votes. “I just want to give a huge thank you to the voters of Clay County for their continued support,” Shook said.
Robert “Robbie” Caldwell appears to have retained his seat with 1,283 votes; however, candidate Jarrod Penland came in only 14 votes shy of Caldwell with 1,269 votes.
“There isn’t a possibility of a runoff, but of a recount,” said county Elections Board Director Rebecca Hall.”He [Penland] has until day after canvass to ask for one.”
In the county commission race, Scotty Penland easily retained his seat capturing 1,828 votes. “Thank you Clay County. I’m very pleased that the citizens of Clay County continue to put their confidence in me, and in the entire board of commissioners,” Penland said. “The primary was just the first hurdle, now it’s on to November and I humbly ask for your support this fall. You can never please everyone, but I’m satisfied that we have really tried to do what’s in the best interest of the county, as a whole! And that’s what I care about, doing what’s best for Clay County.”
Penland received the most votes followed by fellow Republican commission board incumbents Dwight Penland with 1,636 and Clay Logan with 1,624. The newcomer in the race, Jason Moore received 1,419 votes, a little over 200 behind Penland and Logan.
Unaffiliated candidates will appear on the November ballot in addition to the primary winners. Running for county commission is Russell Hughes and Pam Roman. Glen Marcel will be on the school board ballot.
Clay County had a 32 percent turnout for Tuesday’s primary with 3,025 voters casting ballots. Of those voters, 335 voted a Democrat ballot and 2,690 voted a Republican ballot.
Now that the unofficial results are in, the next step is certifying the election. “ We will have a hand eye count next Tuesday May 24, at 9 a.m. and we also have to determine provisional ballots and then have canvass on Friday, May 27 at 11 a.m.,” said Hall.
State and federal office outcomes will be reported in the May 26 edition of the Progress. See local results page A2.