KINGWOOD, W.Va. –The race for Preston County Sheriff has been called in favor of Republican candidate Scott Spiker.
Unofficial results from the 28 reported precincts in the 2024 general election have Spiker winning with 8,257 votes, defeating independent candidate Jim Fields, who had 5,317 votes. Spiker, a law enforcement veteran of close to 30 years with time served in the West Virginia University Police Department and at Hazelton Federal Prison as both a guard and administrator, spoke enthusiastically once the final precinct tallies were accounted for, which showed Spiker winning just over 60 percent of the votes cast in Preston County (14,534 votes cast out of 20,098 registered voters, accounting for approximately 72.3 percent voter turnout).
“I’m really excited to start a new chapter in my life and get to work come January,” said Spiker.
Spiker spoke on some of his goals once he takes office, one of them includes the desire to improve the operations at the Preston County Sheriff’s Office. To address one of his major talking points during his campaign, the newly elected Sheriff hopes to improve the lines of communication with the Preston County Commission, the Preston County Clerk’s Office, along with the residents that interact with the County Tax Office on a regular basis. While he doesn’t expect major changes to take place overnight, he hopes some new policies can improve on efficiency and communications with the public.
“The tax office is a top priority, we need to get that straightened out,” said Spiker. “I think it’s kind of put on the backburner sometimes, and I think the ladies over there are doing a great job, and I think they need some support,” he said.
The longtime law enforcement veteran also stated that he hopes to improve on the number of deputies that are a part of the Preston County Sheriff’s Department. As of early November, Spiker reported that there are currently around 15 deputies a part of the department, a number he feels needs to greatly improve, an issue also separate from the lack of school resource officers in the county, with one officer confirmed in Preston County High School. While no firm plans were released by Spiker after the results were released, any ways to increase patrols and the number of deputies in the Preston County Sheriff’s Department will be explored.
“I would like to see more deputies,” Spiker said. “We need to do a lot more road patrols, when I see people out there, we need to be with the public, we need to be talking with the public, just be on the road,” he said.
Despite the optimism fresh off a near-confirmed election win, Spiker also added that several of his goals will take months to achieve once he swears into office in January. This will include time to do a general overview of operations at the Preston County Sheriff’s office as well as interact with the public and officials to determine ways to explore funding options for staffing or changes in policy. Pending any sudden changes to the vote via canvassing, Spiker is appreciative of the support of the Preston County community and is ready to serve.
“We would just like to thank the citizens of Preston County for coming out and voting,” Spiker said. “I will uphold the (Preston County) Sheriff’s title and take care of what needs taken care of,” he said.
This will be Spiker’s first time serving as Preston County Sheriff, he was selected as the Republican nominee after the passing of Sheriff Paul Pritt.