{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Ken Elliott","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Kenneth Floyd Elliott JR was a Republican candidate for the Columbus County Sheriff in the March 3, 2026 primary election. Kenneth Floyd Elliott JR received 788 votes, finishing behind W. A. (Bill) Rogers's 2267 votes; Joshua McPherson: 1713 votes; Kevin S. Norris: 551 votes [1]. W. A. (Bill) Rogers advanced to the November 3, 2026 general election; Kenneth Floyd Elliott JR does not appear among the candidates certified for that contest on the North Carolina State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list [2].\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Kenneth Floyd Elliott JR is a registered voter in Columbus County, North Carolina, registered since 2000 (26 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [3].\n\nThe voter file shows Kenneth Floyd Elliott JR's year of birth as 1967; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [3].\n\nThe voter history file shows 7 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [4].\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 Floyd Elliott JR can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 primary election results by precinct (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[3] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[4] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Kenneth","lastname":"Elliott","middlename":"Floyd","suffix":"JR","token":"6871c6a0a4336719"},"token":"SEFJ-XZevDjNpTqI"},{"candidatename":"W. A. (Bill) Rogers","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nWilliam Anthony \u201cBill\u201d Rogers is the incumbent Sheriff of Columbus County, North Carolina. He filed as the Republican candidate for both the March 3, 2026 primary and the November 3, 2026 general election for sheriff, per the NC State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list [4]. As of January 2025, The News Reporter described him as Columbus County's \u201csitting sheriff\u201d [3].\n\n## Office history\n\nThe Columbus County Board of Commissioners named Rogers, of Evergreen, sheriff in November 2022 [1], then named him sheriff again in January 2023 \u2014 what The News Reporter described as a \u201cdeja vu move\u201d [2].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\n\nFormer Columbus County sheriff's deputy Joshua Craig McPherson announced on Facebook in January 2025 that he was running against Rogers for sheriff; Rogers told The News Reporter at the time that he planned to run in 2026 to keep the position [3].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Bill Rogers appointed sheriff \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_dc6c5e50-8d54-11ed-b0b5-4b738deb0e30.html) \u2014 published 2022-11-05, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[2] [Rogers named Columbus County sheriff \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_041c10be-8d44-11ed-95d5-cf3b44e51f92.html) \u2014 published 2023-01-05, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[3] [McPherson to challenge Rogers in 2026 sheriff\u2019s race \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_4583121e-d2bb-11ef-8beb-e75704a8ae64.html) \u2014 published 2025-01-14, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[4] [NC State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 Candidate Filing List](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","firstname":"William","lastname":"Rogers","middlename":"Anthony","suffix":null,"token":"2633c049d73f46a8"},"token":"zy2IH0or2UkADOtG"},{"candidatename":"Joshua McPherson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJoshua Craig McPherson, described by The News Reporter as a former Columbus County sheriff's deputy, is a Republican candidate for Columbus County Sheriff in the 2026 election, challenging incumbent Sheriff Bill Rogers. McPherson, whose address is in the Antioch community, announced his campaign on Facebook in January 2025 [1].\n\n## Background\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, McPherson is a registered Republican voter in Columbus County, registered since 2007 (19 years), with a birth year of 1989 [2].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [McPherson to challenge Rogers in 2026 sheriff\u2019s race \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_4583121e-d2bb-11ef-8beb-e75704a8ae64.html) \u2014 published 2025-01-14, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)","firstname":"Joshua","lastname":"Mcpherson","middlename":"Craig","suffix":null,"token":"1439c61e9cbbeb52"},"token":"hOzpysCfdb7Ceauq"},{"candidatename":"Kevin S. Norris","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Kevin Shane Norris was a Republican candidate for the Columbus County Sheriff in the March 3, 2026 primary election. Kevin Shane Norris received 551 votes, finishing behind W. A. (Bill) Rogers's 2267 votes; Joshua McPherson: 1713 votes; Ken Elliott: 788 votes [1]. W. A. (Bill) Rogers advanced to the November 3, 2026 general election; Kevin Shane Norris does not appear among the candidates certified for that contest on the North Carolina State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list [2].\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Kevin Shane Norris is a registered voter in Columbus County, North Carolina, registered since 1998 (28 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [3].\n\nThe voter file shows Kevin Shane Norris's year of birth as 1972; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [3].\n\nThe voter history file shows 8 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [4].\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 Kevin Shane Norris can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 primary election results by precinct (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[3] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[4] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Kevin","lastname":"Norris","middlename":"Shane","suffix":null,"token":"74ca3bcfe37785d9"},"token":"qcIRCEP_dF4gANbo"}],"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":"Columbus County Sheriff"}