Republican sheriff nominee to be decided in a runoff
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Ray Nutt

Not every election result in the March 4 primary was final. The competition between the Republican Sheriff nominees was so fierce the final decision forced a runoff vote.

A runoff vote is a sort of "round two" for candidates of the same party competing for a particular position. Though candidate Ray Nutt was the frontrunner with nearly 47 percent of the vote, the final draw was not enough to secure the nomination. Securing the nomination requires 50 percent of the vote going towards one candidate.

Runner up A.W. "Tony" Allison received roughly 27 percent of the vote.

In a runoff election the frontrunner and runner up candidates will start at zero votes and must gather their base for another election. This time the election is one on one with winner takes-all stakes as far as the Republican nomination is concerned. The nominee will still have to face Democrat sheriff nominee Bill Casey, who ran unopposed in the March primaries, in November. The winner of this election may win by a single vote.

The runoff is scheduled for April 8. Early voting will last from March 31 to April 4. Locations for early voting are the same as for the March primaries.

Tony Allison

- Chandler Substation at 460 S Broad St. (8-11:30 am and 12:30-4:30 pm)

- The Courthouse Basement in Athens at 100 E. Tyler (8 am - 5 pm)

- Seven Points City Hall at 428 E. Cedar Creek Parkway (8- 11:30 am and 12:30-4:30 pm)

Locations for the April 8 voting have not been decided as of this paper's deadline.

Ray Nutt, Republican Sheriff frontrunner, said the key to winning the runoff will be to encourage the people who voted in the primaries to get out and vote again in the runoff.

"Usually there are less people who show for a runoff," Nutt said.

Nutt also voiced his thanks for the voters who supported him and reiterated that votes are needed once more before the November elections.

A.W. "Tony" Allison, runner up in the race for Republican Sheriff nominee, also chipped in his thanks to his supporters for keeping him in the race thus far.

"I'm very thankful for supporters in the primaries and urge them to come back in the runoffs," Allison said.

Nutt said the race for sheriff is very important to the people of Henderson County.

"I want the job because I want to serve the people of Henderson County," Nutt said. "I want to make drug enforcement a priority. If believe if we do more drug enforcement we can cut down on theft and family violence."

Ronny Brownlow, outgoing Henderson County Sheriff, said he believes Allison is the right man for the office of sheriff.

"He has the management experience to tend to the administrative duties in this job," Brownlow said.

Mitch Baker, former Republican Sheriff Candidate, received around 25 percent of the vote and will not be on the runoff ballot.

"We ran a good, professional race," Baker said. "The voters voted and I came up short."

Baker added that his support now goes toward Ray Nutt.

"I've known him for a long time," Baker said, "and I feel he has the experience necessary for the job."

Baker also said a good thing about losing the nomination is it provided him with an opportunity to sit back and see how "it all comes out".

"I'm probably going to do it again one day," Baker said of running for Sheriff. "This is not the last you'll hear from me."

While Nutt's and Allison's viewpoints on the office of Sheriff may differ, both view the prospect of voting in the same light; both urge voters to return to the booths in April and once again cast their votes for the Republican Sheriff nominee.

To be eligible to vote in the runoff the voter must not have voted in the Democrat primaries and must be of proper age.