{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"William Propst","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Kenneth William Propst JR is a registered voter in Catawba County, North Carolina, registered since 1986 (40 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Kenneth William Propst JR's year of birth as 1966; 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 4 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 Kenneth William Propst JR can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\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/)","firstname":"Kenneth","lastname":"Propst","middlename":"William","suffix":"JR","token":"c91518ebfae43e90"},"token":"VUaIGgXvEgHECsS4"},{"candidatename":"Willie Armstrong","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWillie Duran Armstrong serves as Chief of Police of the Town of Brookford, North Carolina [1]. He ran as a Republican candidate for Catawba County Sheriff in the 2026 elections [2]. Armstrong appeared on the ballot in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, where he received 1,652 votes; incumbent Sheriff Don Brown won the primary with 12,836 votes [3].\n\n## Background and education\nArmstrong grew up in foster care and group homes; his parents were involved in domestic disputes and struggled with alcohol and drug use [6]. He became an EMT at age 18 before pursuing a career in law enforcement [6].\n\n## Career\nArmstrong began his law enforcement career working for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the Statesville Police Department [4]. In early 2023, he was appointed Chief of Police of Brookford at the age of 24, becoming one of the youngest police chiefs in North Carolina at the time [1][4]. During his candidacy for sheriff, Armstrong was indicted on a felony charge of altering, destroying, or stealing criminal evidence in connection with a decades-old cold-case investigation; the felony charge, along with a related misdemeanor, was dismissed on June 11, 2026, after a judge found prosecutors had not proven their case [5].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [He's 24 and the new police chief in Town of Brookford \u2013 Hickory Record](https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/hes-24-and-the-new-police-chief-in-town-of-brookford-armstrong-we-have-the/article_eec8fd04-ae21-11ed-87ee-1704b6c0cae3.html)\n- [2] [Chief Will Armstrong has been endorsed for North Carolina Catawba County Sheriff \u2013 YourNews](https://yournews.com/2025/08/25/3792157/chief-will-armstrong-has-been-endorsed-for-north-carolina-catawba/)\n- [3] [Current Catawba County sheriff wins primary election with 80% of votes \u2013 Hickory Record](https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/government-politics/elections/article_93ba1f13-e5a2-4ab5-81bd-42d264650ddf.html)\n- [4] ['It's a blessing': 24-year-old takes helm as N.C. police chief \u2013 Police1](https://www.police1.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/its-a-blessing-24-year-old-takes-helm-as-nc-police-chief-M5AVOcn46JZI5W1K/)\n- [5] [Charges dismissed against Brookford Police Chief \u2013 QC News](https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/catawba-county/charges-dismissed-against-brookford-police-chief-in-handling-of-92-cold-case-evidence/)\n- [6] [Listen: N.C.'s youngest police chief on how his challenging childhood gave him the wisdom needed to run his own PD \u2013 Police1](https://www.police1.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/listen-ncs-youngest-police-chief-on-how-his-challenging-childhood-gave-him-the-wisdom-needed-to-run-his-own-pd-wu4drlnhhN8fXtxm/)\n","firstname":"Willie","lastname":"Armstrong","middlename":"Duran","suffix":null,"token":"5d5b01f627d3db6e"},"token":"LLRyAxhg0bjP3-Ea"},{"candidatename":"Don Brown","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nDonald Graye Brown II currently serves as the County Sheriff [1]. He is a candidate in the 2026 election for the same office, running under the Republican party [1]. His campaign website identifies him as \"Sheriff Brown,\" indicating he holds the position at the time of the filing [1]. The upcoming election has not yet occurred as of May 12, 2026, and its outcome remains unknown.\n\n## Background and education\n\nDonald Graye Brown II is a family man who self-describes as coming from a lineage dedicated to public service [1]. His father, Donald Brown, served with the City of Hickory Fire Department for 34 years before retiring in 2001 [1].\n\nBrown resides in the Balls Creek Community with his wife, Jenny, whom he has been married to for 22 years [1]. The couple has two sons, Jarrett and Grayeson [1]. The family attends New Jerusalem Lutheran Church [1].\n\n## Family\n\nSheriff Brown self-describes as \"a family man first,\" noting that his father, Donald Brown, served at the City of Hickory Fire Department for 34 years before retiring in 2001 [1]. He and his wife, Jenny, have been married for 22 years and reside in the Balls Creek Community [1]. The couple has two sons, Jarrett and Grayeson, and the family attends New Jerusalem Lutheran Church [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Meet Don | Re-Elect Sheriff Don Brown](https://www.reelectsheriffdonbrown.com/sheriff-brown)","firstname":"Donald","lastname":"Brown","middlename":"Graye","suffix":"II","token":"f82a770643112570"},"token":"TVX57xKQccPfS-_B"},{"candidatename":"J.D. Slape","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJames Donald Slape Jr. (J.D. Slape) is a Republican candidate for Catawba County Sheriff who filed on December 8, 2025, from Hickory, NC. He ran in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, placing third among four candidates with 1,096 votes.\n\nHis campaign priorities included taking care of deputies, properly staffing road patrol and the jail, and improving pay to keep pace with Catawba County's growing cost of living.\n\n## Career\nSlape has nearly 25 years of law enforcement experience across every division of a sheriff's office, including road patrol, the jail, courts, school resource work, and community engagement.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [J.D. Slape for Sheriff of Catawba County](https://www.jdslapeforcatawbasheriff.com/)\n- [2] [Catawba County 2026 sheriff candidates talk ICE, gang violence, crime solutions \u2013 Hickory Record](https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/government-politics/elections/article_45e575a2-870c-4f10-92ad-7e7f6b44dedd.html)\n","firstname":"James","lastname":"Slape","middlename":"Donald","suffix":"JR","token":"6e8b1a78f8800f56"},"token":"_z5cN4lqAtsvSsj0"}],"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":"Catawba County Sheriff"}