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It’s official. James Woodruff will continue as sheriff of Troup County after Ricky Ward unexpectedly announced he was exiting the sheriff’s race.

Ward confirmed on Tuesday that he was dropping out of the race for Troup County Sheriff. Ward said that he was able to get signatures to qualify as an independent candidate but chose to quit the race as he would have had to leave his current job with Homeland Security to continue.

Ward left the option of running again in the future saying he would likely seek the position again in 2028.

Election Supervisor Andy Harper confirmed that no one else has qualified to run for sheriff, so Woodruff, who defeated former Georgia State Trooper Ben Turner in the Republican primary, will be our next sheriff.

Woodruff said the news comes as a great relief, noting he won’t have to go through the arduous task of placing his political signs back out.

He said he was thankful and he looks forward to continuing to serve the people of Troup County.