Two Republican candidates vie for Pickens Co. Sheriff in runoff

PICKENS COUNTY., S.C. (WSPA) – Tommy Blankenship and Chuck James are both running for the Republican party’s nomination for Pickens County Sheriff.

The two will be on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary runoff election. The winner will run unopposed for the seat in November.

Blankenship said he’s worked in law enforcement for almost 20 years with experience in uniform patrol, and narcotics investigations.

He’s now a lieutenant overseeing training, certifications, and equipment.

“Also the deputy commander on our SWAT team and I spend a lot of time doing public outreach events, drug awareness information, women’s self-defense and things of that nature,” said Blankenship.

His opponent, Chuck James, has also been in law enforcement for nearly 20 years and has steadily risen through the ranks.

“I’ve been a deputy, master deputy, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and now I’m the chief deputy where I lead 192 employees, manage an $18 million budget and develop strategies on behalf of Pickens County Sheriff’s Office to suppress crime in our county,” said James.

Both candidates said Pickens County has seen significant growth recently. Their goal is to increase the number of officers patrolling the streets.

“My plan is to implement a 5 year strategic growth plan, present that to council within the first month on the job and get them to approve it rather than going to council year to year saying ‘this is what we need,’” said James.

Blankenship said if he is chosen as sheriff, he wants to build relationships with the community.

“Not just out here stopping cars. That’s part of the job and that’s expected of them, but when they go by a home and they see people sitting on the porch, I’d love for them to stop and engage with them because it builds rapport, it builds a relationship, it builds trust,” said Blankenship.

Both Blankenship and James said they are aware of the drug problems in the county and both said they’ll strive to educate the community.

“One of the things that we’ve been able to do successfully at Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is bring behavioral health into our facilities so that they can actually approach the people that are in a target rich environment,” said James.

“Anywhere that someone will let me come and educate people about the dangers of fentanyl, I will be there because it is killing, on average 200 citizens a day in the United States. It’s a huge epidemic and at the end of the day that’s very important to law enforcement,” said Blankenship.

If you didn’t vote in the primary election, you can still vote in the runoff.

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