Lt. Brad Shutts receives most votes in primary for Jasper County sheriff

Unofficial results of the contested Jasper County primary election for county sheriff show Lt. Brad Shutts received the most votes over fellow Republican candidates Tracy Cross and Jeremy Burdess, but a winner has yet to be fully determined until the ballots are canvassed and write-ins are all accounted for.

In order for one of the county sheriff prospects to be chosen as the Republican candidate and put on the ballot in the November election, the winner must have a 35 percent majority of the votes. Otherwise, it would have to be determined at a convention, which could open the candidacy to just about anybody.

According to the unofficial results released by the Jasper County Auditor’s Office on election night, Shutts received 834 votes, or 40.13 percent. Cross received 795 votes, or 38.26 percent. Burdess received 446 votes, or 21.46 percent. There were three write-in votes, or 0.14 percent.

In total, 2,078 votes were cast for the county sheriff primary.

Election Day brought more votes in for Cross than Shutts and Burdess. In fact, 721 of the 795 votes Cross earned were on the day of the polls being open. Shutts received 716 votes on Election Day, but it was the abundance of absentee ballots in his favor — 118 in total — that ultimately gave him the edge.

Since there are no Democratic candidates running for the seat, this primary election could very well decide who will be the next sheriff of Jasper County.