Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin has conceded to Rainbow City Police Chief Jonathon Horton in the Republican primary for the sheriff's office.
Horton is expected to be the county's next sheriff, as there are no Democrats or independent candidates on the ballot for the general election, though multiple potential challengers are considering write-in campaigns.
"I thank God and my wife and I believe that this is a credit to running a clean, transparent campaign," Horton said in a phone interview Tuesdsay night.
Horton said he received a concession call from Entrekin at around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday following early returns showing Horton with an overwhelming lead. Etowah County's probate office reported Tuesday night that with 34 of the county's 35 ballot boxes counted, Horton had received 12,196 votes and Entrekin had received 6,742 votes.
Horton rode a wave of anti-Entrekin sentiment that followed reporting by AL.com in March that revealed that he had personally pocketed more than $750,000 worth of funds allocated to feed inmates in the county jail he oversees as sheriff. The story made national headlines and dogged Entrekin throughout the remainder of the campaign.
The race became especially heated in its final weeks, with much of the controversy playing out online. An anti-Horton website called Expose the Snake went live last month with videos slamming the candidate and court documents that showed that Horton had been accused of domestic violence in the past and that in 2006 he crashed into a car while driving under the influence, injuring the driver.
