{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Jamie Dunn","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"**Update: Paul James Dunn lost the Republican primary for Rutherford County Sheriff on March 3, 2026, and will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.[3]**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Paul James Dunn is a registered voter in Rutherford County, North Carolina, registered since 1996 (30 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Paul James Dunn's year of birth as 1973; 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 10 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 Paul James Dunn 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] Rutherford County Board of Elections, 2026 general election candidate roster (https://www.rutherfordcountync.gov/document_center/Board%20of%20Elections/cont_cand_rpt_3.pdf, filing closed 2026-07-17) \u2014 Paul James Dunn does not appear among the November 3, 2026 candidates for Rutherford County Sheriff; Aaron Ellenburg is the republican nominee who advanced instead.","firstname":"Paul","lastname":"Dunn","middlename":"James","suffix":null,"token":"aaadf8c8d4ff8ca2"},"token":"JBj_iDpnirX-cnDh"},{"candidatename":"Jason Ray Wease","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJason Ray Wease (Republican) is a candidate for Rutherford County Sheriff in the 2026 Republican primary against incumbent Aaron Ellenburg and Jamie Dunn. Wease has run for the same office in 2014, 2018, and 2022; in 2022 he ran as a Democrat before changing his party affiliation to Republican.\n\n## Career\n\nWease is the owner of Wease Enterprises in Mooresboro, NC, a small business involved in creating green jobs.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Who is running for sheriff? \u2013 The Digital Courier](https://www.thedigitalcourier.com/news/who-is-running-for-sheriff/article_b4027b19-ac12-59ab-a72d-686bf6dd83ee.html)\n- [2] [One more run \u2013 The Digital Courier](https://www.thedigitalcourier.com/archives/one-more-run/article_eef8d4d5-de20-526b-939b-fd7da6e40681.html)","firstname":"Jason","lastname":"Wease","middlename":"Ray","suffix":null,"token":"e6284b5772d4cd60"},"token":"3WSiYsnj-Mpj9etY"},{"candidatename":"Aaron Ellenburg","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, James Aaron Ellenburg is a registered voter in Rutherford County, North Carolina, registered since 1998 (28 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows James Aaron Ellenburg's year of birth as 1978; 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 10 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 James Aaron Ellenburg 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":"James","lastname":"Ellenburg","middlename":"Aaron","suffix":null,"token":"a88a7d63c1caac33"},"token":"WkG7PTXpXJ2UeF5L"}],"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":"Rutherford County Sheriff"}