{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nSterlin Morris Walker Jr. (Democrat) is a candidate for Vance County Sheriff in North Carolina. He ran in the May 2022 Democratic primary against incumbent Sheriff Curtis Brame and lost; he entered the 2026 race again, competing against both Brame and challenger Sean Alston Sr.\n\n## Career\n\nWalker joined the Henderson Police Department in 1996 and rose to the rank of sergeant. His first assignment was undercover narcotics work. He subsequently worked patrol, investigations, and homicides. He claims a 100% conviction rate on every homicide case in which he served as lead investigator.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Fields all but set for fall Vance and Granville sheriff's races \u2013 Henderson Dispatch](https://www.hendersondispatch.com/news/fields-all-but-set-for-fall-vance-and-granville-sheriffs-races/article_ec100f9-1f19-5c2e-b792-b132080be07d.html)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","county":"vance","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Vance County Sheriff"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Sterlin","fullname":"Sterlin Morris Walker JR","lastname":"Walker","middlename":"Morris","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Vance County Sheriff","county":"vance","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"vance","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"vance","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Vance County Sheriff","county":"vance","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"vance","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"suffix":"JR","terms":[],"token":"844a77a6189fd835"}