Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos appears likely to retain his post as Pima Countyโs top law enforcement officer, unofficial election results show.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Nanos was ahead of Republican challenger Heather Lappin with about 53% of vote.
Unofficial results as of Wednesday afternoon showed 291,711 votes have been counted in the race. Over 411,000 ballots were cast in the county, according to Pima Countyโs unofficial turnout page.
Nanos, a Democrat, has four decades of law enforcement experience and four years of experience being sheriff, having been appointed sheriff in 2015 after Clarence Dupnik retired after 28 years at the helm.
Nanos could not be immediately reached Wednesday afternoon for comment.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos
The general election race between Nanos and Lappin, a lieutenant at the jail, was bitter.
Nanosโ administration recently suspended Lappin and a sergeant who leads a union in the department, after he was accused of dressing in a way that appeared he was on duty while campaigning for her. Lappin was placed on paid administrative leave after being accused of working with a reporter on stories critical of the jail. The reporterโs publication strongly denied that was the case.
Sgt. Aaron Cross sued filed a lawsuit contending Nanos was violating his free speech. A federal judge ordered Nanos to update the department rules on what employees can wear while participating in political activities.
