Catoosa County sheriff’s Maj. Gary Sisk was all smiles Wednesday morning, Nov. 7, after an overwhelming majority of voters on Nov. 6 officially elected him the new sheriff.

"I'm thrilled and very humbled by the votes that we received (Nov. 6), and I'm thankful for the great voter turnout of our county," Sisk said. "We're glad that we've reached this final point. There are no more questions, and no more elections to get through. ... We're glad that it's finally official."

According to the Catoosa County elections office, 20,751 votes were cast in the sheriff's races. About 57 percent of the county’s registered voters cast ballots.

Sisk, a Republican, received 19,614 (94.5 percent) of those votes.

"I would love to thank the community for its support during this whole process, and I look forward to serving the citizens of Catoosa County for the next four years," Sisk said. "My phone has been blowing up all morning, as they say, and I appreciate all the congratulations I've received from everyone last night and today."

Sisk, who accumulated the second highest number of votes in the July 31 primary election among a slate of candidates, later defeated hopeful Larry Black in a run-off election on Aug. 21 to earn his spot on the Republican ticket.

There were no Democrats running in the sheriff's race on Nov. 6. But Sisk faced declared write-in candidate Mark Cruise, a lieutenant with the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department. Cruise received 678 votes.

Sisk will be sworn in Dec. 31 and will take office Jan. 1.