Tripp pulled ahead late in the Halifax County sheriff's race to defeat Weldon Police Chief Mark Macon, who ran as an independent, and Republican James Warren, who is retired from the sheriff's office.

In an election that saw 17,589 of the county's 38,117 voters participate, Tripp gained 47.08 percent of the vote. He collected 8.153 votes. Macon got 7,081 votes and Warren 2,068 votes.

“I'm humbled the voters of Halifax County have spoken,” Tripp said late Tuesday evening. “I want to thank everyone for their continued support and want to go into the next four years doing what we've been doing and do it better.”

Tripp said having three people running made it tougher, but the victory, he said, was a win for the entire sheriff's office. “The biggest thing was not only was I running, but the staff was running on their work performance. Our record speaks for itself. I want to thank those voters, Democrats, Republicans and independents that voted for me.”

Tripp said the sheriff's office will continue to work closely with the commissioners and continue “serving all the taxpayers.”

In the only other contested race in Halifax County, James “Tank” Williams, Tanya Byrd-Robinson, Chester Alston Jr. and Tiffany Hale won four seats up for re-election on the Weldon City Schools Board of Education.

Williams collected 1,339 votes; Byrd-Robinson 1,053 votes; Alston 953 and Hale 801.

Byrd-Robinson was the only incumbent to win a seat in that race, according to unofficial results.