{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Johnathan T. Morgan","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJohnathan Todd Morgan is the appointed Sheriff of Cumberland County, NC, and a Democratic candidate running to win a full term in 2026. He was appointed unanimously by the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on August 11, 2025, to serve the remainder of Ennis Wright's unexpired term through December 2026. He ran in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary against Joe Bailer, Troy A. McDuffie, and Demetrio Perez.\n\n## Background and education\nMorgan completed criminal justice coursework at Asheville-Biltmore Technical Community College and Fayetteville Technical Community College's Basic Law Enforcement Training program after relocating to Cumberland County.\n\n## Career\nMorgan began his law enforcement career in 1997 with the Fayetteville Police Department and joined the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in 1998, where he has served for nearly 30 years. He worked as a road patrol deputy for five years before advancing. In 2010 he became Deputy Operations Commander and subsequently served as Captain over the Patrol Division for 14 years, overseeing School Resource Officers, Traffic Control Officers, and Community Policing sections. He developed one of North Carolina's top SRO programs and secured grants for student programs.\n\nMorgan served as a volunteer firefighter with the Stoney Point Fire Department for nearly 20 years.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Biography of the Sheriff \u2013 Cumberland County Sheriff's Office](https://cumberlandsheriffnc.gov/biography-of-the-sheriff/)\n- [2] [Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Appoints Major Johnathan Morgan as Sheriff \u2013 Cumberland County](https://www.co.cumberland.nc.us/home/2025/08/11/cumberland-county-board-of-commissioners-appoints-major-johnathan-morgan-as-sheriff)\n- [3] [New Cumberland County sheriff in town: Johnathan Morgan \u2013 CityView NC](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/new-cumberland-county-sheriff-in-town-johnathan-morgan/)\n","firstname":"Johnathan","lastname":"Morgan","middlename":"Todd","suffix":null,"token":"0046ea984f078323"},"token":"ycbW03Bt0g0fKtLk"},{"candidatename":"Joe Bailer","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJoseph Edward Bailer, known as Joe Bailer, is a Democratic candidate for Cumberland County Sheriff in North Carolina [1]. He ran in the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary against incumbent Sheriff Johnathan Morgan and two other challengers, Demetrio Perez and Troy McDuffie [2]. Bailer, 56, entered the race citing a lack of community engagement from the current administration [2].\n\nBailer's campaign platform centers on three principles: legitimacy, transparency, and accountability [2]. He has identified drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and crimes involving minors as top concerns [2]. He has called for a \"hard reset\" of jail operations and improved recruitment and staffing at the sheriff's office [2].\n\n## Background and education\nBailer is a lifelong Cumberland County resident [3]. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a focus in Intelligence Studies from Fayetteville State University and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Criminal Justice [3]. He trained as a military police noncommissioned officer and military working dog handler [3].\n\n## Career\nBailer's career spans three decades across military service, corrections, and campus public safety. During his military service he participated in Secret Service protection details for presidents and foreign dignitaries, conducted counter-narcotics operations in Panama, trained foreign law enforcement at the U.S. Army School of the Americas, and served on a Special Reaction Team [3]. Following his military career, he worked as an educator for incarcerated students through the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections [2]. For the past twelve years he has served as Director of Public Safety and Security at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC), where he oversees safety for more than 35,000 students annually across multiple campuses and leads a department of more than 60 sworn and non-sworn personnel [1][3]. He introduced the use of NARCAN by public safety officers at FTCC in 2014 and co-leads the Behavioral Assessment Team for threat identification [3].\n\nBailer serves on multiple boards including FTCC's Criminal Justice Advisory Board and Cumberland County Schools advisory bodies [3]. He is a member of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and the International Police Work Dog Association (IPWDA) [3]. In 2016, he was invited to the White House 21st Century Policing Task Force Symposium [3].\n\n## Family\nBailer and his wife Juanita have two adult children and two grandchildren [3].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Meet the 4 Democrats Running for Cumberland County Sheriff \u2013 CityView NC](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/meet-the-4-democrats-running-for-cumberland-county-sheriff/)\n- [2] [Meet Joe \u2013 joebailerforsheriff.com](https://joebailerforsheriff.com/meet_joe)\n","firstname":"Joseph","lastname":"Bailer","middlename":"Edward","suffix":null,"token":"b944394cc86cd488"},"token":"Ewo8pElqHoH2Rrt-"},{"candidatename":"Demetrio Perez","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDemetrio Guzman Perez ran as a Democratic candidate for Cumberland County Sheriff in the 2026 primary in Fayetteville, North Carolina.\n\nPerez's top priority is restoring the visibility of the sheriff's office through community engagement and returning school resource officers to sheriff's office oversight; the agency had provided SROs since 1998 but did not renew the contract in 2024.\n\n## Background and education\nPerez is a Texas native who moved to Fayetteville in 1979 when the U.S. Army brought him there. He spent 20 years in the military before transitioning to civilian law enforcement. He is bilingual and has served as a bilingual hostage negotiator.\n\n## Career\nFollowing his military service, Perez spent 18 years as a deputy with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. His experience spanned school resource work, gang investigations, supervisory roles, bilingual hostage negotiation, recruiting, and polygraph examinations. He currently works as a security specialist for Cumberland County Schools.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Meet the 4 Democrats Running for Cumberland County Sheriff \u2013 CityView NC](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/meet-the-4-democrats-running-for-cumberland-county-sheriff/)\n","firstname":"Demetrio","lastname":"Perez","middlename":"Guzman","suffix":null,"token":"48ed402d84423657"},"token":"Sn8Rj1cuwpo0-xNM"},{"candidatename":"Troy A. McDuffie","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"Troy A. McDuffie is the Democratic candidate for Cumberland County Sheriff in the 2026 North Carolina general election. He appeared on the Democratic primary ballot on March\u202f3,\u202f2026 and won the primary with 49.55% of the vote (11,138 votes), defeating incumbent Sheriff Johnathan Morgan and two other challengers [11]. McDuffie will face Republican LaRue\u202fWindham in the November 3,\u202f2026 general election [1].\n\nMcDuffie brings more than three decades of law\u2011enforcement leadership to the race. He spent 35\u202fyears in public safety, serving as Deputy Chief of the Hoke County Sheriff\u2019s Department, Chief of Police for the town of Red Springs, and Police Chief of Spring Lake, North Carolina [8]. His career has been highlighted for honesty, fairness, and a commitment to community safety, qualities emphasized in a recent Facebook endorsement that described him as a \u201cproven leader recognized for his honesty, fairness, and unwavering commitment to public safety\u201d [8].\n\nThe office of county sheriff is the elected chief law\u2011enforcement position for the county, overseeing the sheriff\u2019s office and its responsibilities for public safety, jail administration, and court security. As sheriff, McDuffie would become the second Black sheriff in Cumberland County history, following former Sheriff Ennis\u202fWright, who publicly endorsed him during the campaign [11].\n\nIn the primary campaign, McDuffie emphasized his extensive experience and leadership record, stating that voters were looking for \u201cexperience and proven leadership\u201d and that \u201cthe voters have spoken\u201d in favor of his vision for the sheriff\u2019s office [11]. He avoided negative campaigning and focused on factual discussion of his qualifications. The primary result positioned him as the leading Democratic choice for the county\u2019s top law\u2011enforcement role.\n\nMcDuffie\u2019s campaign contact information includes an email address listed on Ballotpedia: TROYMCDUFFIE@YAHOO.COM, indicating a channel for voter outreach and contributions [1]. No phone number was provided in the available sources. The campaign\u2019s public presence includes a Facebook post encouraging donations and support, as well as coverage by local news outlets such as CityView NC, which provided a portrait of McDuffie used in campaign materials [11][8].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Troy A. McDuffie (Cumberland County Sheriff, North Carolina, candidate 2026) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Troy_A._McDuffie_(Cumberland_County_Sheriff,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2026))\n- [7] [Candidate Profiles \u2013 NC Voter Guide](https://ncvoterguide.org/profiles/)\n- [8] [Please support and elect Troy McDuffie for Cumberland ...](https://www.facebook.com/RhondaLeighSmith/posts/please-support-and-elect-troy-mcduffie-for-cumberland-county-sheriff-in-the-upco/26300945512841642/)\n- [11] [Troy McDuffie Wins Democratic Primary for Cumberland County Sheriff](https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/troy-mcduffie-wins-democratic-primary-for-cumberland-county-sheriff/)","firstname":"Troy","lastname":"Mcduffie","middlename":"Alonzo","suffix":null,"token":"3479b7b3f3c223e2"},"token":"ShohIjJU6sfxD5Lc"}],"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":"Cumberland County Sheriff"}