MADISON, Wis. — Democratic candidate Kalvin Barrett ran against Republican candidate Anthony Hamilton for Dane County Sheriff and won with 76.7% of the vote. 

Barrett was first appointed to the position by Gov. Tony Evers following the resignation of Dave Mahoney in 2021. This will be his first full term as Dane County Sheriff. 

“I feel really well. I feel that I have done a great job over the last couple of months, but also building relationships and really continuing our mission at the sheriff’s office to properly serve all areas of our community, all members of our community and I am excited to continue to earn their votes as they continue to come in this evening,” said Barrett.

Hamilton said he decided to run for sheriff after being put on administrative leave for filing a civil lawsuit alleging Barrett forced him to participate in what Hamilton called an illegal search. 

During an interview with Spectrum News, Hamilton said if he lost this election, this could very well be the end of his career as a police officer.

Neither Barrett nor his campaign manager commented on this. 

Following his win, Barrett said he will continue to focus on the community to make it a better and safer place. 

“Number one, our first focus will be public safety, number two, we want to enhance our jail diversionary program and number three, we want to hire a diverse workforce to help with our staffing shortage,” said Barrett.