His arrival at the Lawrence County Courthouse late Tuesday night was met with cheers and applause from some of his deputies.

Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton will serve the county for another four years after beating democratic challenger Russell Bennett in Tuesday's election.

When the votes were counted, Sexton collected 14,841 votes, or 55.57 percent of the votes cast. Bennett, police chief for the Village of Chesapeake, garnered 11,866 votes, or 44.43 percent of those cast.

Sexton attributed his win to a proven track record in office and to his credentials as a professsional law enforcement officer.

"I'm obviously pleased," Sexton said. "I think the voters correctly chose a candidate with credentials and his name was Tim Sexton. I've worked hard for four years. Some of the issues he (Bennett) brought up during the campaign have always been raised in sheriff's races, such as lack of money.

"I have been very successful in getting some $400,000 in grants to help this. And drug enforcement: we've been very aggressive in drug enforcement.

Voters had to choose whether or not to vote for a candidate who could provide real results and that's what the voters chose. …I thank The Lord for the opportunity to serve again."

Sexton took an early lead and never lost it, although at times Bennett made gains, particularly in the eastern end of the county.

Among the precincts Bennett carried were Athalia, Sheridan 1, Braddrick 1 and Labelle 7 precincts, while Sexton's support tended to be scattered throughout the county, with concentrated support in Ironton and surrounding townships.

This will be Sexton's second term in office.