Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn wins reelection
FORT WORTH, Texas - Tarrant County voters reelected Republican Bill Waybourn as sheriff.
The incumbent law officer defeated Democratic challenger, Patrick Moses, by 54% of the vote.
2024 ELECTIONS: Full Results
Waybourn, the former Dalworthington Gardens police chief, took office in 2016 after defeating longtime Sheriff Dee Anderson. He was reelected in 2020.
Waybourn made headlines for his comments and policies targeting illegal immigrants, including a push to identify inmates in the U.S. illegally and support for Senate Bill 4, which made illegal border crossing a state crime.
He was endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Moses, a pastor and retired federal law enforcement officer, ran his campaign on concerns about a string of in-custody deaths at the Tarrant County jail.
Tarrant County sheriff calls for patience as in-custody death is investigated
31-year-old Anthony Ray Johnson Jr. was in the Tarrant County Jail when he was pepper-sprayed during a fight with jailers. He later died.
He called Waybourn’s leadership into question, saying, "Enough is enough."
Waybourn previously asked for patience as investigators looked into the deaths.
The sheriff campaigned on some areas he considered successes during his time in office.
His campaign website points to an increase in Tarrant County DWI enforcement, the creation of a veterans pod in the detention bureau and efforts to combat issues at the border.