Chad Pennell sweeps Sheriff seat

First Republican Sheriff since 1970

HISTORIC WIN FOR ALEXANDER REPUBLICANS — Alexander County Republican candidate Chad Pennell is shown above on Election Night, Nov. 8, soon after he learned of his win in the 2022 General Election for Sheriff. Pictured above, left to right: son Cole, Chad Pennell, wife, DeAnna; daughter, Bre; and friend, Grant Harrington.

In a major upset in local politics, Republican challenger Chad Pennell of the Ellendale Community has secured the seat of Alexander County Sheriff from current Sheriff Chris Bowman, a Democrat, who has held the office since 2009. Pennell garnered 10,471 votes (68.68%) to Bowman’s 4,776 (31.32%), according to unofficial results from the Alexander County Board of Elections.
On Election Night, Pennell was visibly surprised with the landslide in his favor.

“I want to thank everybody for their trust, their prayers, their support, and their vote. I’m overwhelmed right now,” said Pennell. “I appreciate what everybody’s done for me. I’m ready to get to work.”

“I’m so grateful that people had faith in me and put their trust in me, that I would be the best person for this county,” he added. “I’m going to be faithful to what I’ve talked about all along — the big things in my plan: School Resource Officers, without the cost, move people within the office to have them; change how we work on drugs; and adjust things at the office. I’m going to work for every single person in the office and for every single person who’s out here, exactly the same. I want to increase their salaries, increase the morale, increase things at the office to where they’ll want to stay here. I also want to make sure the citizens know that we’re making a bigger impact across the board.”

Current Sheriff Chris Bowman stated, “Dear Fellow Citizens: Thank you so much for allowing me to be your Sheriff for the last 13 years. It has truly been an honor to serve this county. I thank everyone who gave me your support and your vote. I have peace about how this turned out and am relieved to not have to deal with the politics that have overshadowed the job performance. I am excited about my future and spending time with my family! I wish you all the very best in the future!”