{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nKeith Sexton is the incumbent Washington County Sheriff, on the Republican ballot for the Aug. 6, 2026 general election [1].\n\n## Career\nSexton has more than 30 years in law enforcement: 13 years with the Johnson City Police Department and 17 years with the Washington County Sheriff's Office [2].\n\n## Office history\nThe Washington County Board of Commissioners unanimously appointed Sexton interim sheriff on Nov. 22, 2021, filling the vacancy left when Sheriff Ed Graybeal retired after 18 years in office [3]. Sexton went on to win the Republican primary for a full term, defeating Leighta Laitinen and Michael Templeton with about 70.5% of the vote [4]. As sheriff, he has said his priority is increasing patrol numbers to reduce crime and response times [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Staff Directory - Keith Sexton \u2014 Washington County, TN](https://www.washingtoncountytn.org/directory.aspx?EID=76) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [30-year law enforcement vet Keith Sexton seeking appointment to complete Washington County sheriff's term \u2014 WJHL](https://www.wjhl.com/news/your-local-election-hq/30-year-law-enforcement-vet-keith-sexton-seeking-appointment-to-complete-washington-county-sheriffs-term/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Keith Sexton appointed Washington County, Tennessee sheriff \u2014 WCYB](https://wcyb.com/news/local/keith-sexton-appointed-washington-county-tn-sheriff) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [Keith Sexton wins Republican primary for Washington County sheriff \u2014 WJHL](https://www.wjhl.com/news/your-local-election-hq/keith-sexton-wins-republican-primary-for-washington-county-sheriff/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","campaigns":[{"contest":"sheriff","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"Sheriff"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"KEITH","fullname":"KEITH SEXTON","lastname":"SEXTON","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"sheriff","contest_title":"Sheriff","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"sheriff","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"sheriff","contest_title":"Sheriff","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"sheriff","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Washington County Sheriff since 2021, a 30-year law-enforcement veteran, running for reelection Aug. 6, 2026.","terms":[],"token":"32uBknPxWm"}