Gibson Backs Lewis in Runoff for Sheriff

Will Montgomery

Keith Lewis

Montgomery Gets Nod from Richland County Sheriff

WINNSBORO – Ricky Gibson, whose bid for Sheriff came up short in the Sept. 30 special election Democratic primary, has thrown his support behind Keith Lewis in advance of this Tuesday’s primary runoff. Lewis, currently Chief Deputy at the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, faces Richland County deputy Will Montgomery in Tuesday’s vote.

“He’s already in office and in a position to keep the continuity of the department together,” Gibson said. “He will be able to address any issues straight from the start, instead of having to find out what the issues are. He has made a pledge that he will actively address any and all issues brought to him and I am taking him at his word.”

Gibson earned 925 votes in the Sept. 30 primary, good enough for a third-place finish behind Lewis’s 1,595 and Montgomery’s 1,613. Those votes will be highly coveted by both candidates leading up to Tuesday’s winner take all vote. Gibson said he and Lewis will hit the campaign trail this week to round up votes in areas where Lewis under-performed two weeks ago and focus on areas where turnout was soft.

“I feel in those areas people were reluctant to come out and vote,” Gibson said. “We have to stress the importance to the county of that vote.”

Gibson said he has known Lewis for nearly the entirety of Lewis’s 30-plus-year career and said he believes Lewis will be a unifying force for the county.

“I believe he will be able to unify the county, for the benefit of everyone in the county,” Gibson said.

Lewis was endorsed early in his campaign by outgoing Sheriff Herman Young, who stepped down in late July for health reasons. A special election to fill out the remaining two years on Young’s term will be held Nov. 18, but with no Republicans filing, Tuesday’s runoff will all but officially fill the position.

Montgomery, meanwhile, received the endorsement this week of his employer, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.