The race for Bertie County Sheriff narrowed by two Tuesday night.

Incumbent Sheriff John Holley won the Democratic nomination by an overwhelming majority. He received 78.92 percent of the vote over Eddie Graham Jr. Holley received 2,718 votes to 726 for Graham.

On the Republican side, Brian Knowles was chosen by receiving 73 percent of the vote against Derrick W. Knox.

Holley won all 12 precincts. His biggest support came from Windsor I where he had 414 votes compared to 97 for Graham and Colerain II where he received 279 votes compared to 44 for Graham. Holley also easily won the Merry Hill precinct (131-21), SnakeBite (120-37), Roxobel (174-55) and Mitchell’s I (92-27).

“I am honored to have received the support of so many Democratic voters,” Sheriff Holley said. “Law enforcement is my life, it’s all I know. I am excited about the primary election victory and I look forward to continuing to protect and serve the citizens of Bertie County.

“We’ll continue to work while we prepare for the November election,” he added.

Sheriff Holley also was named on 852 ballots in the One-Stop voting compared to 141 for Graham.

He was also chosen by Democrats in Colerain I (125-42), Indian Woods (64-14), Mitchell’s I (92-27), Mitchell’s II (120-37), Windsor II (87-66), Woodville (99-92) and White’s (142-45). He won the Absentee balloting 19-8.

Republicans gave their nod to Knowles. He was chosen on 186 ballots compared to 68 for Knox.

“I’d like to thank all voters for coming out Tuesday,” Knowles said. “We’d like to thank all of our supporters. We’re proud of the campaign we’ve run thus far and plan to continue it in the same manner.

I’d like to thank all citizens in advance for taking a look at our vision for the sheriff’s office,” he added. “We feel confident going into November that people will like what they see once they take a look at our plan.”

The largest support for Knowles came in One-Stop voting where he received 39 votes compared to 22 for Knox.

Knowles also won all 10 precincts in which Republicans cast ballots. Those vote totals included: Colerain I (14-7), Colerain II (20-4), Mitchell’s I (12-6), Mitchell’s II (19-1), Merry Hill (6-1), Roxobel (27-12), Windsor I (22-6), Windsor II (5-0), Woodville (3-2) and White’s (19-6).

No Republican votes were cast in Indian Woods or SnakeBite.

Holley and Knowles will now meet in the November General Election where Bertie voters will decide who will be the county’s top law enforcement officer for the next four years.