{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Buddy Harwood","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJames Ernest \"Buddy\" Harwood is the Democratic candidate for reelection as Madison County Sheriff in the November 3, 2026 general election, having filed his candidacy on December 1, 2025 [1]. He has served as Sheriff since winning the November 8, 2022 general election [2], and the Madison County Sheriff's Office currently lists him as the sitting Sheriff [4].\n\n## Background and education\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Harwood is a registered Democrat in Madison County since 1994 (32 years); NC's bulk voter export lists only year of birth, which is recorded as 1964 [5]. The voter history file shows 11 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary [5].\n\n## Office history\n\nHarwood won the 2022 Democratic primary for Madison County Sheriff on May 17, 2022, defeating Jim Cruzan 1,598 votes to 302 [3]. He then won the November 8, 2022 general election over Republican Robin Lyles by a countywide margin of 6,912 votes to 3,116 [2]. Lyles is again the Republican nominee challenging Harwood in the 2026 general election [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing listing (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`) \u2014 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2022 general election precinct-level results (`results_pct_20221108.txt`) \u2014 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2022_11_08/results_pct_20221108.zip \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2022 primary election precinct-level results (`results_pct_20220517.txt`) \u2014 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2022_05_17/results_pct_20220517.zip \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n[4] Madison County Sheriff's Office \u2014 https://www.madisoncountync.gov/sheriffs-office \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n[5] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter registration and history file (`vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup` / `ncvhis_Statewide` at `dl.ncsbe.gov`) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20","firstname":"James","lastname":"Harwood","middlename":"Ernest","suffix":null,"token":"5e9abc572a88a85f"},"token":"vZnYudx5hCqSIKGz"},{"candidatename":"Robin Lyles","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Robin Powell Lyles is the Republican candidate for Madison County Sheriff on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot, having filed his candidacy on December 1, 2025 [1]. This is his second bid for the office.\n\n## Office history\nLyles ran for the same office in 2022. He and Tim Buckner were the two candidates in the May 17, 2022 Republican primary; Lyles advanced to the November 8, 2022 general election, where he faced Democratic nominee Buddy Harwood (Harwood had defeated Jim Cruzan in the Democratic primary the same day) [2]. Ballotpedia's coverage of this race does not include vote totals for either election; it directs readers to the county or state elections office for results [2].\n\n## Background and education\nNo independently published source describes Lyles's professional background or education. Ballotpedia notes he has not completed its Candidate Connection survey [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 candidate filing list (Madison County Sheriff), accessed 2026-07-20 \u2014 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv\n[2] [Robin Lyles (Madison County Sheriff, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Robin_Lyles_(Madison_County_Sheriff,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022))","firstname":"Robin","lastname":"Lyles","middlename":"Powell","suffix":null,"token":"69ea9b7e4ed7cec7"},"token":"5vBuc9YRbKbeKN2V"}],"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":"Madison County Sheriff"}