Raleigh, NC — Democrat Willie Rowe beat incumbent Gerald Baker to secure the party’s nomination in the Wake County Sheriff’s race. Rowe is set to face Republican challenger and former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison in the Nov. 8 general election. With 208 of 208 precincts reporting, Rowe had 23,763 votes (75.35%) compared to 7,773 votes (24.65%) for Baker. “We’re in this position because of you,” Rowe said. “The phone calls, the texts, reaching out to people, spreading that message by word of mouth, social media [and] every avenue. “You guys made the difference. Believe we’re going to win tonight, I owe you everything. Let’s get ready to come together and push forward to win it all in the fall.” Rowe vowed to make Wake County the safest place to live, work, play and visit. “We can do it by improving morale in the sheriff’s office by increasing staffing, improving working conditions and just working together as a team,” Rowe said. Late Tuesday night, Baker said he was proud of the past four years. “The voters have spoken and that’s OK. I’m fine with that. We’re working hard. This office serves the county. Tonight’s results set this office back about four years, and in November, we’ll see it back about 16 years. That is unheard of and doesn’t exist right now,” he said. Until a new sheriff is elected, Baker said he will continue to serve the county. “I want everyone to know that this office is not going to lose anything — it hasn’t lost a minute since the day we took office,” Baker said. “The morale in this office is better than it’s ever been, and I know that because I’ve been here. I know there’s going to be morale issues. You’re talking about a company that employs 1,000 people.” Harrison served as Wake County Sheriff from 2002 to 2018. Baker worked for the Wake County Sheriff for 28 years before upsetting Harrison in 2018. “It’s not about Willie [Rowe] and Donnie [Harrison]Harrison said. “It’s about the people of this county and the deputies who work the streets and the jailers who work the jail. We have to make it better for them. “Especially citizens, they deserve better when it comes to law enforcement.” Six other North Carolina municipalities held local general elections Tuesday, while other municipalities and boards of education also held runoffs or second primaries. In the May primary, Rowe and Baker were the front-runners among seven Democratic candidates. Neither Rowe (29.4%) nor Baker (24.06%) received the 30% plus one vote needed to win the nomination during the May primary. Rowe is a military and law enforcement veteran. Earlier this month, Rowe told WRAL News he was concerned about the number of vacancies in the sheriff’s office. “Improving morale, improving working conditions, making sure our staff as well as the general public are valued,” Rowe said. “That they are valued.” “I happen to think morale is better in this office than it’s been in a long time,” Baker told WRAL News earlier this month. “Obviously, people are going to have different opinions on that.” Both Rowe and Baker said they support the right of law-abiding citizens to own their guns, but want to pay more attention to who gets them. “I would like to think that a legal citizen wouldn’t and shouldn’t have a problem having to go through a little more process,” Baker said. Rowe explained what he would try to do if elected sheriff. “We have to manage the way weapons are disbursed [to] make sure it’s done legally, responsibly, that the people who end up with guns are properly trained and have the best intentions,” Rowe said.
