OKEECHOBEE — After a long hard battle, Noel Stephen was elected once again as sheriff of Okeechobee County.

In the Aug. 20 primary election, Stephen defeated Steve Weikert and Jon Folbrecht, taking 66.99% of the votes. Weikert received 17.25% and Folbrecht 15.76%.

All three candidates are Republicans. Because there were no candidates in other parties, this was an open primary.

In 2020, Stephen ran unopposed for his second term, but this time, the race was more difficult. Stephen faced multiple online attacks but refused to fight back. Instead, he focused on his past record as sheriff and as a law enforcement officer in general. “I don’t like negative campaigning, and I refuse to participate,” he said. His strategy paid off, and he won by a large margin.

Stephen thanked his supporters in a Facebook post. “Good evening, Okeechobee. Thank you for all your support. First and foremost, to my staff, thank you very much. It has been a team effort for all of us to stay out of the garbage, out of the mess, out of the noise, as my wife calls it, and be that better person that we're supposed to be. It’s what we reflect in our community each and every day.

“To the public, thank you for supporting my team. We are here to make Okeechobee better. We're going to work together in the next four years and get everybody ready to continue with a solid law enforcement agency — the best in the state. Thank you, Okeechobee. Thank you for re-electing me as your sheriff of Okeechobee County.”

Weikert, who also did not participate in negative campaigning had this to say after the results were made public, “Ladies and gentlemen of Okeechobee, thank you so much for your support. I very much enjoyed running. I met so many great people. I said it at the forum, and I will say it again. I may not have won the race, but I won in life by meeting all the great people I did. This was my first time running, and I learned a lot. I am a God loving, God fearing man, and I believe He only gives three answers — ‘yes, no, or not yet.’  I am going to accept this outcome as ‘not yet.’ I will try again in 4 years.

“I would like to say congratulations to Noel Stephen. I must say you ran a clean campaign. I enjoyed our parties on the corners with the rest of your family and camp. God bless everyone. Okeechobee proud.”

Folbrecht, on the other hand, was not as polite, saying, “Congratulations Sheriff Noel Stephen! Okeechobee voters have made their choice and decided that they are very happy with the ‘Good Ole Boys’ running this town. If you ever wonder why nothing changes here, it's because we keep voting for the same people over and over again. If you didn't vote and are unhappy with the results, then be sure to vote in the next election.

“To all of you who supported me through this campaign, I am eternally grateful to you. I have met a lot of nice people and a lot of nasty people as well. I wish you all the best with your elected officials. God bless Okeechobee!”

According to the Supervisor of Elections website, only 27.83% of registered voters used their voting privilege this time. Some used mail-in ballots, and many took advantage of early voting.