KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After the votes were officially counted and the winners were declared in the Johnson County, Kansas's August primary , it was revealed that long-time sheriff, Calvin Hayden, had been voted out and will be replaced by one of two new candidates: Democrat Byron Roberson or Republican Doug Bedford.

Unlike the months leading up to the primaries, the campaigns of both candidates have not been filled with as much drama or controversy.

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Roberson and Bedford have each had steady races. Both carry years of experience in law enforcement and have laid out policies, plans and changes they hope to implement in the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, as well as the office's relationship with the community.

So, before you take to the polls and choose a candidate, here's everything you need to know about the running for Johnson County Sheriff in the 2024 general election:

Democratic Candidate

Byron Roberson

in law enforcement, Roberson started his career serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve before working as an undercover narcotics officer, emergency management coordinator and SWAT team leader. He made history as the first Black police chief in Prairie Village .

Roberson's campaign said he has the support of four former Johnson County police chiefs, including former Lenexa Police Chiefs Ellen Hansen and Tom Hongslo, and former Merriam Police Chiefs Tim Burnett and Ben Hadley.

Goals:

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Republican Candidate

Doug Bedford

Bedford served on U.S. Navy Seal Team Three and was a former undersheriff for Johnson County. He is from De Soto, Kansas, and has an extensive resume with experience in law enforcement.

His work includes time serving as a Kansas State Police Officer, an agent with the Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control, and multiple roles within the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.

Goals:

According to poll results in the 2024 primary election, Doug Bedford won the vote unofficially by 12%, beating Sheriff Calvin Hayden 56% to 44% (23,572 votes to 18,372 votes) in the Republican race.

This solidified Bedford's spot on the November ballot against Democratic candidate Byron K. Roberson, who did not have an opponent in the primary.

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In the weeks leading up to the primary election, drama surrounded the Johnson County Sheriff's race. Specifically, this drama revolved around former Johnson County Sheriff Hayden, who was beaten by Bedford back in August.

Conversations with Johnson County sheriff candidates

Hayden was a controversial figure in Johnson County after he launched an investigation into alleged voter fraud after the 2020 election.

According to the Associated Press (AP) , the former sheriff began investigations after the results of Johnson County's 2020 General Election polls came in. The polls showed President Joe Biden as the winning presidential candidate.

The theory of fraudulent voting largely stemmed from former President Donald Trump's claims that the previous general election was stolen, leading many other officials across the U.S. to launch their own investigations.

Hayden also claimed to have received many tips about potential irregularities in the ballot box, however, no criminal charges were ever filed. This led the former sheriff to receive substantial backlash and national attention after providing no legitimate pieces of evidence of any fraud or voter manipulation.

To this day, state and local officials continue to refute Hayden's claims, insisting the election was secure. He never ended up producing evidence of election fraud and suspended investigations in early July, blaming it on Johnson County's destruction of 2019, 2020 and 2021 ballots in February .

However, a report from AP states that even though the destruction of the votes was over 17 months late, it is still "in line with state law ."