Durham County sheriff coasts to Democratic primary win, but race not over

Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead cruised to an easy win in the Democratic primary Tuesday. He will now face a former FBI field office agent who garnered enough signatures to run as an independent in the general election.

With all precincts reporting and the early vote counted, unofficial returns show Birkhead collected just over 90% of the slightly more than 42,000 votes cast. His opponent, former Durham County Sheriff’s Maj. Paul Martin, did not raise any money for his campaign.

Birkhead is seeking his second term as sheriff. He defeated incumbent Mike Andrews in 2018 in an election that focused on whether Durham’s sheriff should honor federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers to hold defendants who may not be here legally for an additional 48 hours. Birkhead said he would end the practice and did.

Birkhead is a former police chief for Duke University and for the town of Hillsborough. He unsuccessfully ran for Durham County sheriff in 2014.

Birkhead received the endorsements of all three of Durham’s major political groups: the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the People’s Alliance and the Friends of Durham. The People’s Alliance limited its endorsement to the primary, spokeswoman Nana Asante-Smith said, and will hold a second meeting in the fall to make an endorsement for the general election.

Martin, who had also been a captain in the Durham Police Department, was a write-in candidate for sheriff in 2018.

General election next

Birkhead faces at least one opponent in the general election: Maria Jocys, who has obtained the required 9,248 signatures from voters to qualify as an independent. Jocys, grew up in Durham and is a retired FBI special agent who ran the Raleigh field office.

Former Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez had also announced he was running as an independent, but he did not meet the signature threshold, Durham County Elections Director Derek Bowens said Tuesday.

Lopez said Tuesday evening it was impossible to collect that many signatures without paying for help, but he said he still wants to continue his campaign as a write-in candidate.

He said his family and supporters want him to keep running.

“They really want to see a change here in Durham,” he said.

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