Joel Merry declared winner in Sagadahoc County sheriff’s race

The race for sheriff in Sagadahoc County has been called. Joel Merry will continue to serve in that role.

The current Democratic sheriff was facing one of his deputies, Republican Sgt. Aaron Skolfield.

Merry tallied 63 percent of the vote.

Merry has served as the Democratic sheriff for 16 years.

This decision will extend that to two decades, but Merry said this will be his fifth and final term.

"I've said, and this is no secret, that this is likely my last term. And when you do that, you look at the future," Merry said. "We have a lot of young talent, new police officers coming on board. It's back to work. Back to work tomorrow. And that's what I was elected to do."

Merry and Skolfield were embroiled in the Lewiston mass shooting tragedy .

Skolfield was specifically named and criticized for his actions leading up to the shootings.

Merry believes his win is more about his long law enforcement career, which spans close to 40 years in Sagadahoc County.

Skolfield couldn't be reached for comment about Wednesday's results.