BEAUFORT, S.C. — Beaufort County has its first new sheriff in more than 20 years after Doug Seifert won Tuesday night over Alphonso Small Jr., collecting 50,886 of the 85,496 votes cast in the race, or close to 60 percent.
Turnout ran high across the county, with about one in three registered voters casting a ballot before Election Day. Seifert takes office in January 2027 and succeeds Sheriff P.J. Tanner, who backed him in the race. Seifert previously worked for the sheriff’s office.
During the campaign, Seifert pledged to double the size of the department’s drug unit, form a team dedicated to traffic enforcement and look at building a new substation on St. Helena Island.
Small, a former law enforcement officer who sits on the Beaufort County School District board, ran on more transparency, more community meetings and more deputies visible in neighborhoods. In a statement after the results, he congratulated the winner and said he accepts the decision of the voters.
The sheriff race topped a crowded county ballot that also included races for eight seats on County Council, seven school board contests and a pair of referendum questions on a proposed 1 percent transportation sales tax that might bring in up to $780 million across nine years.
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