{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWilliam Tracy Jackson (Republican) ran for Sampson County, NC Sheriff in the 2026 primary. He lost to incumbent Sheriff Jimmy Thornton, 4,529 to 2,009 votes (69% to 30%).\n\n## Background and education\nA Sampson County native, Jackson was born and raised in Clinton, NC. He holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certification and serves as a law enforcement instructor at multiple local community colleges.\n\n## Career\nJackson has more than 15 years in law enforcement. He began as a Sampson County deputy sheriff, worked up to the rank of detective, and left full-time in 2008. Most recently he served as Chief of Police in Stedman, NC, where he built the department from the ground up. He has also farmed turkeys under a Butterball contract for 20 years.\n\nJackson volunteered as a youth coach at Clinton High School and Sampson Middle School, served as a deacon at Clinton Community Church, and spent 11 years on the board of the Sampson Community Theatre.\n\n## Family\nMarried to Natalie Jones Jackson; four children and two grandchildren.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [About \u2013 Tracy Jackson for Sheriff](https://jacksonforsheriff.com/about/)\n- [2] [Tracy Jackson Announces Campaign \u2013 Sampson Weekly](https://thesampsonweekly.com/f/tracy-jackson-announces-campaign-for-sheriff-of-sampson-county)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","county":"sampson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Sampson County Sheriff"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"William","fullname":"William Tracy Jackson","lastname":"Jackson","middlename":"Tracy","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Sampson County Sheriff","county":"sampson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"sampson","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"sampson","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Sampson County Sheriff","county":"sampson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"sampson","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":"5836f1f15920fa4b"}