Harrison wins Republican primary for Wake sheriff; Democratic primary likely headed to a run-off

Donnie Harrison won the Republican primary for Wake County sheriff on Tuesday, but the Democratic primary will likely head into a run-off election.

To become the party's nominee, the candidate must receive at least 30% of the votes cast plus one. With 100% precincts reporting in Wake County, Willie Rowe—the 28-year-veteran of the Wake County Sheriff's Office—had 29% of the votes.

Incumbent Sheriff Gerald Baker was in second place with 24% of the votes.

Election rules state the second-place candidate may request a second primary, which would be held on July 26. Cedric Herring was in third place with 16% of the votes.

"I am not just going to walk away from all this work we've been doing serving this county for four years," Baker said.

On Tuesday night, Baker told WRAL News he will seek a run-off election if Rowe doesn't reach the 30% plus one vote threshold once outstanding ballots have been counted. Baker has until noon on Thursday, May 26 to request a run-off.

"I still feel good about it. We are still waiting on some provisional ballots to be counted, which could really close it and make a difference," Baker said. "Who knows? We'll wait and see.

"It's a little bit early to concede for me anyway. We still have some votes that are still out there."

The sheriff’s office is facing hiring issues so many others are dealing with right now, such as staffing shortages and burnout. Baker told WRAL News that he’s made several changes to better serve the county.

"The morale in that office is better than it's ever been," Baker said. "You are not going to get that from folks who are out there speaking against this office.

"People are happy with the job we are doing right now. We are doing more things in that office right now in terms of serving this country than ever before."

May 2022 North Carolina primary election results - WRAL live election coverage

Rowe said it's necessary for the hiring issues to be fixed in order to keep the county safe.

"We have got to get staffing up to sufficient levels so that we can serve and protect," he said.

Part of Rowe’s plan to combat staffing issues includes increasing pay, improving working conditions, offering part-time positions for retirees and expanding the reserve officers program.

Rowe said he also plans to boost community trust with daily interactions with residents through “mentoring, sports and recreation activities with youth.”

Harrison, meanwhile, is running to get his job back. He served as Wake County’s sheriff from 2002 until 2018.

On Tuesday night, Harrison said he’s already working to put a team together.

“We have already started," Harrison said. "We are not waiting. We are going to win this thing and when we win it, we are going to be ready to go.

“We are going to be ready to pull the trigger and go to work, and it’s going to take some work, but with the team we have together and we have people joining us regularly, that is giving us feedback that we need. I am very blessed and ready to go to work.”

Harrison said the sheriff’s office is “running behind a lot of other agencies.”

“We have got to hire good people and we have to train those people and we’ve got to retain those people,” he said. “I will be talking to the county commissioners from the get-go. How can we make it better? That is one of the goals.”

In the Wake County District Attorney race, incumbent Lorrin Freeman, a Democrat first elected in 2014, defeated defense attorney and political newcomer Damon Chetson.

"While District Attorney Freeman and I have our differences on policy, she has the experience and commitment to public service that is essential to Wake County," Chetson said in a statement.

Chetson said he looked forward to making sure Freeman and other Democrats win in November.

Freeman will face Republican Jeff Dobson in November’s general election.