CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Sheriff’s race has drawn a lot of attention among voters. The sheriff’s badge has been worn by Chester A. Hawkins since 1978; however, earlier this year, he announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-election.
Three sheriff candidates stepped forward on the Republican ballot for yesterday’s Primary Election, and Wesley B. Thurston won with 1,963 votes. Thurston defeated challengers John A. Bacher III and Harry Miller, who received 1,594 and 838 votes, respectively.
On the Democratic side, Jeffrey L. Rhone received 3,035 votes. Rhone ran unopposed. Thurston and Rhone will go head-to-head in November’s municipal election.
All results are unofficial until certified by the Clearfield County Board of Elections. Absentee ballots are included.
Clearfield County has 51,299 registered voters with 23,509 (45.83 percent) being Republican, 22,190 (43.26 percent) being Democrat and 678 (1.32 percent) being non-partisan. Of those, 9,016 ballots were cast with 4,879 (54.11 percent) being Republican and 4,095 (45.42 percent) being Democrat.
Voter turnout totaled 17.58 percent for yesterday’s Primary Election. It came in at 20.75 percent for Republican voters and 18.45 percent for Democrat voters. Voter turnout came in at 6.19 percent for non-partisan voters.
Click here for complete Clearfield County Election Results.