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James Ernest Harwood
Office history
Current office and 2026 campaign
James 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.
Background and education
According 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.
Office history
Harwood 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.
Sources
Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) — https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv — accessed 2026-07-20results_pct_20221108.txt) — https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2022_11_08/results_pct_20221108.zip — accessed 2026-07-20results_pct_20220517.txt) — https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2022_05_17/results_pct_20220517.zip — accessed 2026-07-20vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup / ncvhis_Statewide at dl.ncsbe.gov) — accessed 2026-07-20Public filings
Candidates and officeholders are required by law to file campaign finance reports and statements of economic interest. The sites below don't support direct links to an individual record — search by last name on each.
North Carolina — campaign finance
- State, county, and municipal candidates — all in one system — NC State Board of Elections — Committee Search. Search by last name “Harwood”.
North Carolina — statement of economic interest
- Required for state-elected and many local officials — NC State Ethics Commission — Statement of Economic Interest Search. Search by last name “Harwood”.