A familiar face will be back on the ballot during August’s general election

Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford defeated Rocky Croy during Tuesday’s Republican primary by over 1,000 votes to secure the party’s nomination.

According to the final unofficial numbers, Lunceford took 5,209 votes while Cory finished with 4,173.

“This shows that we are doing what we need to be doing at the sheriff’s office,” Lunceford said Tuesday night surrounded by family, friends and campaign volunteers. “I really want to thank everyone who came out and showed support during this year’s primary. I also want to wish Mr. Croy best of luck in the future.”

Lunceford was first elected to the post as sheriff in 2014. Now with Tuesday’s victory under his belt, the sheriff will now receive some opposition during August’s election in the form of Independent candidate Steve Stevenson.

“We’ve got three more months to campaign now,” Lunceford said. “We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and hopefully it’ll turn out the same way.”