The Republican primary for Sangamon County sheriff went to former sheriff’s lieutenant Wes Barr.
Barr retired from the department last year and soon after announced he would run to replace the outgoing sheriff Neil Williamson, who has held the job for over 20 years. But Williamson backed his undersheriff Jack Campbell.
The race seemed to split the Republican party establishment in Sangamon County. Both received key endorsements. The candidates also sparred over issues such as the department’s taser policy, which Barr criticized and Campbell defended.
In the end Barr won the election by just under two thousand votes. He has spent 28 years in law enforcement, including time on the Chatham police force.
He will next face Democrat Jeff Regan in the general election. Regan ran as a write in and received enough votes to make it to fall ballot.
