Incumbent Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright is planning a write-in campaign in hopes of keeping his office in the November election.
Wright was defeated in the Aug. 12 Republican primary race by Shawano police officer Adam Bieber.
The official vote tally certified by the board of canvass shows Bieber garnered 2,688 votes to 2,459 for Wright.
Sheriff’s Department Capt. Tom Tuma, who dropped out of the race too late to keep his name off the ballot, received 86 votes.
Bieber faces Independent challenger Lucas Christenson on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
Wright said he was encouraged by supporters to run as a write-in.
“My phone has been ringing constantly,” he said.
Wright supporter David Kohn last week organized the Friends of Sheriff Randy Wright, which Cohen said will do most of the campaigning on Wright’s behalf, including going door-to-door and distributing new and modified campaign signs.
The group launched a Facebook page seeking to gauge support for Wright to keep running.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Kohn said.
He also said numerous people have offered to help.
Kohn said there was an expectation that Wright was going to easily win the primary.
“A lot of people didn’t vote because they assumed Wright was going to win in a landslide,” Kohn said.
Wright said the rules covering partisan primaries also contributed to his loss, preventing voters in the Democratic primary from crossing over and picking a preference in the sheriff’s race.
According to the certified primary results, 1,070 voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary for governor.
Wright said he will meet with his supporters this weekend and file his write-in papers with the Shawano County Clerk’s office next week.
“I wish him the best,” Bieber said, when asked for a reaction Wednesday afternoon.
Christenson could not be reached for a comment by deadline.
According to the county clerk’s office, there has so far never been a successful countywide write-in campaign.
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