Doug Seifert wins GOP nomination for Beaufort County Sheriff
For more updates on the primary elections in Beaufort County, click here.
Doug Seifert cruised to a victory in Tuesday’s Republican primary election for Beaufort County Sheriff, becoming the likely candidate for the seat’s first transition of power in nearly three decades.
Seifert won 57.8% of the vote over opponent JoJo Woodward, who ran unsuccessful campaigns in 2018 and 2022 against outgoing sheriff P.J. Tanner, according to preliminary results from scvotes.org with all precincts reporting.
“Tonight, politics takes a back seat to service. Tomorrow, the work begins,” Seifert wrote in a Facebook post following his win Tuesday night. “I look forward to serving all of Beaufort County with integrity, transparency, and respect. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
Just over 21,000 ballots were cast for the sheriff’s race in total, according to the results database. Woodward earned the majority of votes in about a third of the county’s precincts, primarily in the northern reaches of Beaufort County and in his hometown of Bluffton.
Tanner endorsed Seifert after the candidate filing period ended in late March, saying the 53-year-old was a “perfect candidate” because of his familiarity with Beaufort County communities, his established position within the sheriff’s office and his standout work ethic.
“There is only one candidate in this race that I believe has the character, discipline and work ethic to lead our Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office into the future. He will enhance, build upon and foster relationships that produce measurable results. That candidate is Doug Seifert,” Tanner said in a campaign video posted in May.
Tanner announced in March that he would not seek reelection, choosing to end his 28-year tenure as sheriff at the end of his seventh term next January.
Seifert will face Democrat Alphonso Small Jr. in the Nov. 3 general election, where voters will elect the next leader of the sheriff’s office. The winner will be sworn in during the first week of January.
His campaign focused on promises to fill deputy vacancies at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, improve trust in law enforcement through community engagement and build coalitions with local officials to help make decisions about growth and development.
Before moving to South Carolina and joining the sheriff’s office as a patrol deputy in 2006, Seifert had his start in civic service as a town councilman for North Bend, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.
Seifert joined BCSO’s investigations team in the mid 2010s, according to his campaign website. He first worked as a supervisor in 2014 when he was promoted to sergeant, later becoming a staff sergeant and master sergeant.
He rose the ranks to lieutenant of the department’s Southern Enforcement Division just before resigning to begin his campaign in mid-March, becoming the first candidate to join the race.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 11:10 PM.
