Grady Sheriff's race is down to the wire | News

CAIRO, GA (WALB) - Grady County Sheriff Harry Young is trying to accomplish something none of his predecessors have been able to do in over 50 years.

Win a third consecutive term.

But with two challengers in his own party, his path to keep the badge has not come easy.

Sheriff Harry Young says Tuesday's downpour has not shattered his confidence level. "This is the day we've been waiting for. We just need to get through the day until about 9:30 when we learn who the winner is. And I hopefully that will be Harry Young."

Young is running the democratic primary against two other veteran law enforcers Jerome Smiley and Odell Jolly.

"I just want to thank all my voters for standing behind me and I will stand behind y'all once I get in," said Smiley

"We got a lot of competition. We have about three of us democrats running. So we don't know what is going to happen. We'll know at the end of today," said Jolly.

The candidates spent the day campaigning in front of the Grady County Agricultural Center.

"This is one of the major polling places so I am here to let people see me. So the ones that don't know me, can see me," said Jolly.

Grady County is just one of many where the position of sheriff is up for grabs.

"The sheriff, he's almost an icon in each county and everyone looks up to him. And they want the best person in that position because that's the law," said Chief Registrar F. Jean Marshall.

"You work warrants. You work patrol. You work accidents. You work civil papers. There's so much involved with being the sheriff," said Young.

And elections officials just want to dispel the myth that one vote does not count.

"We had an election back in 2000 that there were six or eight votes separating them. Those six or eight votes separated them and if those six or eight people would have not turned out. We don't know what would have happened," said Marshall.

If none of the candidates receive a majority of the votes, there will be a run-off election on August 21st.

The democratic winner will go on to face unopposed republican Earl Stuckey in the November election.

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