{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Doug Farmer","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDouglas Alan Farmer is the Sheriff of Jackson County, North Carolina. He was first elected to the office in 2022 and won reelection in 2026. Because no Democratic candidates filed for the position, his 2026 primary victory guaranteed him another four-year term beginning in January 2027.\n\nFarmer has prioritized drug enforcement through increased community patrols and collaboration with mental health and rehabilitation services. He expanded coverage in the Cashiers area and increased license checkpoints. He maintains school resource officers in Jackson County public schools. He invested roughly $150,000 in body scanners, added nursing staff and weekly physician visits, and established a medication-assisted treatment program using Vivitrol injections to address overdose risk among incarcerated individuals.\n\n## Background and education\nFarmer graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Training program at Southwestern Community College in 1997 and began his law enforcement career in 1998.\n\n## Career\nFarmer worked eleven years at the Macon County Sheriff's Office, progressing from Detention Officer to Patrol Deputy, Patrol Sergeant, and Detective, and also served as a SWAT operator. He subsequently served at the Highlands Police Department, then worked one year in Iraq as a contractor training local law enforcement agencies. In 2010 he joined the Sylva Police Department, where he remained until retiring in 2019. In 2022 he ran for Jackson County Sheriff and defeated Democrat Rick Buchanan with 51.9 percent of the vote. In the 2026 Republican primary, Farmer defeated challenger Brandon Elders with more than 72 percent of the vote.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Jackson County reelects Farmer as sheriff \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/40973-jackson-county-reelects-farmer-as-sheriff)\n- [2] [Farmer focuses on detention, patrol with JCSO \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/36031-farmer-focuses-on-detention-patrol-with-jcso)\n- [3] [Sheriff Doug Farmer \u2013 North Carolina Sheriffs' Association](https://ncsheriffs.org/people/doug-farmer)\n","firstname":"Douglas","lastname":"Farmer","middlename":"Alan","suffix":null,"token":"9b1e4d25f2055e10"},"token":"WHKVSe8ZZWFw3YvH"},{"candidatename":"Brandon Elders","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Brandon Edward Elders is a registered voter in Jackson County, North Carolina, registered since 2000 (26 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Brandon Edward Elders's year of birth as 1981; 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 7 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nBrandon Edward Elders was a Republican candidate for Jackson County Sheriff in the March 3, 2026 primary. Elders received 947 votes, finishing 2nd of 2 Republican candidates, and did not advance to the November 2026 general election [3].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records and the state's certified primary results. Voters with personal knowledge of Brandon Edward Elders 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/)\n\n[3] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 primary certified results, Jackson County](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_precinct_sort/JACKSON_PRECINCT_SORT.txt) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21","firstname":"Brandon","lastname":"Elders","middlename":"Edward","suffix":null,"token":"3fe73f7fad7780e9"},"token":"bL1JnKbozFeJnmPp"}],"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":"Jackson County Sheriff"}