Voters choose Republican candidate for Aiken County sheriff race

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Marty Sawyer was named the Republican candidate in the race for Aiken County sheriff on Tuesday, to face off Democrat Lucas Grant.

One of the big races we’re following is Aiken County sheriff.

Marty Sawyer took the lead with 77% of votes, while Stuart Prettel had 15% and Ed Wilson has 8%.

Current Sheriff Michael Hunt is retiring, and three Republicans – Marty Sawyer, Stuart Prettel and Ed Wilson – hoped to fill his seat.

After the results, Ed Wilson says, “I wish to thank my wife for her continued . I wish to thank my Georgia-Carolina staff and all those who took time out of their busy schedule to assist with my campaign. I also wish to thank the citizens who voted for me and who had the faith in my ability to serve the citizens of Aiken County.”

Sawyer will now go up against Democrat Lucas Grant.

This race is a big deal because for the first time in more than two decades, there will soon be a new sheriff in town – one with new ideas and plans.

We sat down with each candidate to hear what they would like to achieve if elected.

Prettell says it starts with community policing – a method that encourages a healthy connection and level of trust between the community and police officers.

Sawyer says in order to combat problems with drugs, homicides and missing people, it starts internally with better retention

And Wilson says on Day 1, he wants to start evaluating the drug hotspots around the county and help speed up the emergency medical response time

Prettell said: “We’ve got to have community policing. We live in a world-famous horse community. There is no horse patrol. When you have a gathering, nobody shows up on horseback from the sheriff’s office. That’s got to change; that is a perfect community outreach type of thing.”

Sawyer said: “We need to retain some good employees. And I don’t, you know, especially murderers and missing people. That’s not something you just don’t work. That has to be a primary focus of our investigation division. And we can’t do it by ourselves.”

Wilson said: “I want to evaluate the hotspots for the drug distribution in the county and see what we can do about eliminating that. I want to just evaluate our dispatch here to see what needs to be done to decrease the response time of the officers.”

Prettel hung up his law enforcement hat in the 1990s, while Grant might be a familiar face as a former Richmond County deputy.

Prettel says the crime led him back to Aiken County, with the one of his biggest plans is to prioritize your safety.

“People complain constantly about break-ins, and nothing is being done about crack houses, drugs everywhere. And I just felt a calling to come back,” Prettel says.

Grant says he calls Aiken County home. One thing he plans to do is deploy a traffic division and work on crime.

He says: “Home has grown a lot, but so has the crime. Even in 2020, my own father was murdered in Aiken County.”

Elsewhere

• Aiken County Council District 4 (R): Landon Ball, 51%; Gene Helmich, 49%.
• Barnwell County Sheriff (R): Steven Griffith, 91%; Stephen Gunnells, 9%.
• Barnwell County Council District 3 (R): Andy Hogg, 53%; David Peachey, 47%.
• Barnwell County Council District 7 (R): Travis Hooper, 65%; Alan Kennedy, 23%; Johnnie Zorn, 12%.
• Edgefield County Council District 2 (R): Tiffany Ireland, 66%; Patrick Atkinson, 34%.
• Edgefield County Council District 3 (R): Dean Campbell (R), 67%; Brett McNeill, 33%.
• McCormick County Council District 1 (D): Donald Moss, 74%; Joy Bell-Turman, 26%.
• U.S. House District 2 (R): Joe Wilson, 76%; Hampton Redmond, 24%.
• U.S. House District 2 (D): David Robinson, 85%; Daniel Shrief, 15%.
• U.S. House District 81 (R): Charles Hartz, 67%; Betsy Lamb, 19%; Mack Morris, 11%; John Lewis, 3%.
• Allendale County Council Distrist 1 (D): Theresa Taylor, 45%; John Chaney, 40%; Keith Browning, 15%.

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