{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJoe Duckett Shook is a Republican candidate for Clay County Sheriff based in Hayesville, NC. He ran in the May 2022 Republican primary (against Mark Buchanan and George Elver) and filed again for the 2026 election cycle.\n\n## Career\n\nShook is a former Clay County Sheriff and previously had a career with the North Carolina Highway Patrol before entering elected law enforcement.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Sheriff's Race Intensifies in Clay County as Buchanan Responds to Shook \u2013 The Mountain Buzz](https://www.themountainbuzz.com/post/sheriff-s-race-intensifies-in-clay-county-as-buchanan-responds-to-shook)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","county":"clay","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Clay County Sheriff"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Joe","fullname":"Joe Duckett Shook","lastname":"Shook","middlename":"Duckett","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Clay County Sheriff","county":"clay","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"clay","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"clay","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Clay County Sheriff","county":"clay","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"clay","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"1f9a608ee8de6794"}