former Democrat supporter seeks GOP nomination for sheriff | Eastern NC Now

ally of failed former Sheriff Ernie Coleman

ENCNow

Beaufort County Republicans seem to be set for another primary for the office of sheriff in 2026.  Incumbent conservative sheriff Scott Hammonds is expected to seek reelection to a second term.  An ally of the man he beat, former Sheriff Ernie Coleman, former Beaufort County deputy sheriff Kelly Cox is already putting up campaign signs around the county for a challenge.  This race is essentially Coleman versus Hammonds 2.0

For GOP loyalists, there is another big concern and that is the political opportunism of Cox.  In 2022, after Coleman was defeated in the primary, Cox, who was  a member of the Beaufort County Republican executive committee at the time, began actively campaigning for the Democrat sheriff nominee in the general election.  He flagramtly ignored party loyalty rules for Republican officials that prohibited campaigning for Democrats.  As a result, he was forced to resign from the county Republican executive committee for party disloyalty.


Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published )
Enter Your Comment ( text only please )



Comments

( March 16th, 2025 @ 11:57 am )
 
Sheriff Hammonds is a strong supporter of cooperation with ICE against illegal alien criminals. We need to keep him.
( March 15th, 2025 @ 7:51 am )
 
I agree that Hammonds has been a good sheriff, and Coleman wasn't. We do not need a rerun of the Coleman era. I know some of the Coleman crowd have sour grapes over his loss, but that should not be the basis for another primary.

As an individual, a person has an absolute right to support anyone they want to. However when one is entrusted with a position of leadership in a party organization, if they want to go against that party in a race, they have an ethical obligation to resign from that party post. It is the lack of ethics by Cox in continuing in that position under those circumstances that is very troubling. Our sheriff should be of the highest ethical standards and Cox does not reflect that.
( March 14th, 2025 @ 3:41 pm )
 
Cox is not the most qualified candidate for Sheriff. In addition to his questionable ethics concerning party disloyalty, he abused his authority while serving as a member of the Beaufort County Sheriff Department when he was employed there. It is easy to see that he is only seeking office for personal gain or other personal reasons. He is not a person of the high moral fiber or character that we expect, not only of our elected officials, but also of the law enforcement officers we count on to keep us safe. That is NOT the type of leadership we need in law enforcement in our county! I would not recommend or endorse him for Sheriff.
( March 14th, 2025 @ 11:31 am )
 
As an Independent, I personally do not care if you are a Democrat or Republican or who you support, Scott Hammonds has been a great sheriff and I will continue to support him! #TEAMHAMMONDS

Also, as Bubba said: "Ernie Coleman was one of the worst sheriffs", if not, the worst in my lifetime that is!
Bubba said:
( March 14th, 2025 @ 11:05 am )
 
Ernie Coleman was one of the worst sheriffs our county ever had. Why would we want one of his cronies as our sheriff?
( March 14th, 2025 @ 11:21 am )
 
There is a very good reason why someone supporting a Democrat should not be sitting in a Republican Executive Committee meeting. He would have access to senstive informatoin to pass on to the Democrat.Anyone with personal integriy would immediate resign from such an obvious conflict of interest whether the rules allowed it or not. Our sheriff should be someone of unquationable personal integrity and someone who willingly engaged in this conflict of interest just does not qualify. The fact that he did not immediately resign on his own when he started to support the Democrat, but waited to be confronted after that was discovered speaks volumes.



NYC To Ignore ICE Detainer On Illegal Immigrant Who Allegedly Set Woman On Fire In Subway Rant & Rave, Editorials, Beaufort Observer, Op-Ed & Politics Amazon Rainforest razed to build highway for UN Climate Summit


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

If you are covering Roy Cooper in Greensboro today, please consider the following statement from the Republican National Committee:
Obama and Biden judges abuse power for political reasons to try to stop Haitian deportations

HbAD1

teachers union rally held on major socialist / communist May Day holiday
Democrats foment climate of violence against Trump and GOP
Cheryl Hines. Dennis Quaid. Nicki Minaj. All became associated with the Trump administration. What happened next?
A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two charges related to making threats against President Donald Trump.
Their goal was simple: to put a Planned Parenthood in every mailbox in America.
Treasury officials allege these groups pose as humanitarian entities while covertly siphoning donations to Hamas.
President Donald Trump has publicly floated regime change and other aggressive actions toward Cuba.

HbAD2

With a new roadside plaque unveiled in Ellerbe on April 23, legendary wrestler and local resident André René Roussimoff is finally getting the formal recognition fans believe he deserves.
Following a string of attacks, critics are calling for denaturalizations. It's not that simple.
Understanding how parties work is important for making informed decisions regarding elected officials.
The solution is not to legalize the problem; it is to enforce the law consistently and deter future illegal immigration.
The teachers union is pushing to cancel school on May 1 as Chicago public schools continue to report dismal student proficiency rates.

HbAD3

Mission accomplished on sending inspiration from the dark side of the moon.
illegal alien "asylum seeker" migrants are a crime wave on both sides of the Atlantic
Beaufort County residents deserve lower taxes and should demand them from government.
"Pay no attention to the folks behind the curtain" was their preference but things are beginning to come to light.
It has been several days since a deranged left-wing lunatic attempted to assassinate President Trump and other members of his administration and yet Roy Cooper is STILL silent out of fear of alienating his base, who is perfectly okay with violence.

HbAD4

 
 
Back to Top