Hodge turns away Moses for Sheriff

Republican incumbent Sheriff Lawrence Hodge not only survived a rough-and-tumble primary election bid Tuesday, but came through seemingly unscathed, top vote-getter among county politicians when final results were tallied.
Hodge beat former Sheriff H.D. Moses handily 5,240 to 2,185, capturing support from a solid 62 percent of Republican voters. Moses got 25 percent and challenger Evelyn McCullah polled third with 1,192 votes, 15 percent overall.
“I wouldn’t have ever thought I would have done that against H.D.,” Hodge said. Until Tuesday, Moses had never been defeated in an election bid.
“People just don’t want what they had,” Hodge said. “We went for years with no law enforcement in this county. I know what people out in the county went through. They had to wait four or five hours for a cop when the called for on.”
Hodge said the issue of illegal drugs, both their use and sale, was a deciding factor in the race. He said everywhere he campaigned, people were praising his efforts to curb illegal drug dealing in the county.
“People don’t want drug dealers on every corner,” he said. “If they know about a drug dealer, they want them gone. I think drugs was a huge issue in this race.”
Moses said he was “surprised” by his defeat and questioned the accuracy of the voting process. Some complaints arose Tuesday about voting machines in certain precincts not allowing voter to cast ballots for certain candidates.
“Some of the machines were screwed up,” Moses said. “I’ve never seen it happen like that … I’m not saying that because I lost.”
Moses said he lodged a complaint with the Attorney General’s office and called for alleged election irregularities in the county to be investigated thoroughly.
The 69-year-old former Sheriff said he was not disappointed that he lost the primary and called a future run for office likely, if he is in good health.
Hodge will go on to face Democratic candidate Onnie Meadors on November’s general election ballot. He said if he wins, he plans on increasing the Sheriff Department’s efforts in the school system.
“I think you can learn a lot from kids,” he said. “That’s an area I’d like to really get more into.”