Orange County election 2026 results: Blackwood wins 4th term in sheriff’s race
Incumbent Charles Blackwood easily defeated challenger David LaBarre in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Orange County sheriff.
With all 40 of the county’s precincts reporting, Blackwood, who will serve his fourth, four-year term, won 59% of the vote.
LaBarre, a Hillsborough resident and director of planning and development at the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, had 41%.
The Orange County Board of Elections reported that 32,096 out of 111,300 voters cast ballots in this year’s primary election.
There are no Republican candidates for sheriff. Tuesday night’s results will become official after the March 13 canvas at the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough.
The sheriff’s race has been heated at times, largely because of LaBarre’s statements challenging Blackwood’s actions and policies around immigration enforcement. A Washington, D.C.-based political action campaign endorsed him late in the campaign, flooding local mailboxes with postcards opposing Blackwood.
The men are largely aligned on other issues, such as community policing, jail diversion, and local programs to help people with mental health and substance abuse issues.
LaBarre’s stance on immigration, however, attracted the backing of a 501(c)4, or “dark money” PAC that posted video ads on social media and mailed out postcards opposing Blackwood ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
One mailer, sent out just days before the election, misattributed a quote to Blackwood.
In the quote, LaBarre said he would follow federal and state law if immigration agents return to Orange County, and only ask his deputies to step in if agents violate citizens’ rights or to render help if someone is injured.
‘Sad day for politics,’ Blackwood says
Blackwood said he was happy and relieved to see his campaign win Tuesday, but he is “disappointed” in how LaBarre ran the race.
“Everybody who’s run for a race here has been respectful of each other and respectful of themselves, and I think he absolutely drug that to a place it has never been before,” Blackwood said. “It was a sad day for politics, because … politics in Orange County may have changed today because of that, and not for the good.”
Blackwood, who joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1980, worked his way up through the ranks under two previous sheriffs. He has held a number of state roles, including past president of the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association and chair of the N.C. Governor’s Crime Commission.
He also has modernized the department and works with a crisis unit and the Criminal Justice Resource Department to divert nonviolent offenders from the jail. Other key programs he has started include the Coordinated Opioid Overdose Reduction Effort (COORE), Josh’s Hope database, LifeTrack rapid-response system, and de-escalation and crisis intervention training.
Blackwood said he looks forward to expanding the CARE team already serving people in crisis in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, saying it will make his team “better and more efficient.” His campaign priorities also included professional standards, consistent expectations and accountability, as well as staff wellness, training and support for deputies; and increased use of technology.
Each division at the Sheriff’s Office is going to talk individually about “what we can do to get better at what we do … because it’s good to do that,” Blackwood added.
“Every new term, it’s a new, fresh start for us. I think we’ve got to embrace the fact that times are different and changing. We have to change along with it. So from that standpoint, it gives us a chance to look inward and make sure we’re doing the right things,” he said.
LaBarre did not return The News & Observer’s phone call seeking comment.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 8:57 PM.
