Benston closes in on Bladen County Sheriff, history

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Democratic race for Bladen County Sheriff was a hotly contested one that even included a couple of federal investigations into the two remaining candidates, fellow deputies, who fought to succeed the retiring Stephen Bunn. In the end, the election came down to just a few hundred votes.

Prentis Benston beat Eric Bryan in the second primary Tuesday. Benston received 3,872 votes (51.96 percent) to Bryan’s 3,580.

Today’s vote could decide the race for good. No Republican is running, but former State Trooper Billy Ward plans to run as an Independent. He has until Friday to get signatures from four percent of registered voters in the county. If Benston wins, he would become the county’s first African-American sheriff.

 17 of 17 precincts reporting