{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Brandon Shepherd","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Brandon Paul Shepherd is a registered voter in Ashe County, North Carolina, registered since 2004 (22 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Brandon Paul Shepherd's year of birth as 1982; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 10 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Brandon Paul Shepherd can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n**Update: Shepherd lost the March 3, 2026 Republican primary for Ashe County Sheriff.** He placed second of three candidates with 1,852 votes; B. Phil Howell won the Republican nomination with 2,634 votes (55.5%). Shepherd will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot for this seat, per certified North Carolina State Board of Elections results [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 election results (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip \u2014 accessed 2026-07-24\n","firstname":"Brandon","lastname":"Shepherd","middlename":"Paul","suffix":null,"token":"30b42b66f2ae3384"},"token":"3TlTBKrefmpMuS33"},{"candidatename":"Earl Cox","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Earl Ray Cox is a registered voter in Ashe County, North Carolina, registered since 2006 (20 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Earl Ray Cox's year of birth as 1961; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 10 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Earl Ray Cox can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n**Update: Cox lost the March 3, 2026 Republican primary for Ashe County Sheriff.** He placed third of three candidates with 257 votes; B. Phil Howell won the Republican nomination with 2,634 votes. Cox will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot for this seat, per certified North Carolina State Board of Elections results [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 election results (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip \u2014 accessed 2026-07-24\n","firstname":"Earl","lastname":"Cox","middlename":"Ray","suffix":null,"token":"5bb7bc47ad9c02bf"},"token":"WuA2eNmDfzmjIMA_"},{"candidatename":"B. Phil Howell","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBrandon Phil Howell, known as B. Phil Howell, is the incumbent Sheriff of Ashe County, North Carolina, and is seeking re-election in 2026. He was first elected Sheriff in 2018 and is serving his second term. Howell won the 2026 Republican primary with 55.53 percent of the vote.\n\nHowell's 2026 campaign emphasizes expanded community outreach events, aggressive drug enforcement, fleet vehicle modernization, and advocacy for competitive deputy pay and staffing levels.\n\n## Background and education\nHowell is a lifelong Ashe County resident who attended local schools before earning a degree from North Carolina State University in 2006. He also earned his law enforcement certification at Wake Technical Community College.\n\n## Career\nHowell began his career as a State Park Ranger in 2006. He returned to Ashe County in 2010, joining the sheriff's office as an undercover narcotics detective investigating felony drug cases. He also served as a patrol officer and later as Director of 911 Dispatch, where he modernized systems and created a backup communications center. He has approximately 20 years of law enforcement experience.\n\n## Family\nHowell is married to Amanda and they have three daughters: Emma, Norah, and Adi.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Ashe County voting guide for sheriff \u2013 Ashe Post & Times](https://www.ashepostandtimes.com/news/ashe-county-voting-guide-for-sheriff/article_600c3eec-2f58-4979-b44e-709e1c992f81.html)\n- [2] [Sheriff B. Phil Howell \u2013 North Carolina Sheriffs' Association](https://ncsheriffs.org/people/b-phil-howell)\n","firstname":"Brandon","lastname":"Howell","middlename":"Phil","suffix":null,"token":"edbb05e52d296545"},"token":"TAbvbMKQFJyMWcRP"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"sheriff","o.office":"county_sheriff","office":"county_sheriff","officedescription":"The sheriff is the county's chief law-enforcement officer. The office operates the county jail, provides court security, serves civil process and executes warrants, and provides patrol and investigation \u2014 a large operational command with a substantial budget.","officequalities":"- Organizational leadership of a sheriff's office spanning patrol, investigations, court services, and the county jail.\n- Oversight of the county jail, including intake, inmate health, and release procedures.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee criminal law, court process, and constitutional search-and-seizure standards.\n- Ability to develop and oversee the office's operating budget with public accountability.\n- Coordination with municipal police departments and neighboring-county and state agencies.\n- A documented law-enforcement or public-safety background.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Sheriff","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Ashe County Sheriff"}