Carl Ritchie wins Charleston County Sheriff’s race, unseats Graziano

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- New leadership is coming to the Charleston County Sheriff's Office.

Republican Carl Ritchie was elected sheriff Tuesday, unseating incumbent Democrat Kristin Graziano after only one term.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Ritchie led with 51% of the vote.

Ritchie was the longtime chief of the Mount Pleasant Department. He retired from the department in May 2021 and was elected to Mount Pleasant Town Council later that year.

Ritchie pledged during his campaign to bring "strong leadership" to the sheriff's office, often touting his lengthy law enforcement background in the Charleston area as what makes him best suited to lead it.

There are several new initiatives Ritchie said he would bring to the agency from a data-driven staffing approach to a greater focus on school security. He also plans to use a "proactive and community policing" approach to improve services in unincorporated areas of the county.

This story is breaking and will be updated.