BENTONVILLE -- Shawn Holloway won the Republican nomination for Benton County sheriff in a runoff election Tuesday.

Complete but unofficial results were:

Shawn Holloway 5,894

Paul Pillaro 3,488

Holloway has been a major with the sheriff's office for the past three years and worked for years at the Rogers Police Department.

Holloway will face Glenn Latham in the Nov. 8 general election to decide who will succeed Sheriff Kelley Cradduck, who finished third in the Republican primary March 1. Cradduck was seeking a third term in office.

Holloway said he was pleased that months of hard work had paid off. "It wasn't all me," he said. "I couldn't have won without the help of so many people."

Holloway thanked his supporters and the people who worked behind the scenes for his campaign. He said he plans to take a short break to recharge and then focus on winning the election in November.

Then, "it will be back to knocking on doors and listening to citizens about what they want in a sheriff's office," Holloway said.

Pillaro, a lieutenant in the Lowell Police Department, said in a Facebook post that he ran a clean and great campaign. "At the end of this I will be able to say my conscience is clear," Pillaro wrote in the post.

Latham, a former detective in the sheriff's office who now works for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is running as an independent. There were no Democrats seeking the sheriff's position.

"I'm happy it's decided. It's been a drawn-out process, but I knew it would be decided by a runoff," he said.

Latham said he stayed on the sidelines as the Republicans selected his opponent.

"It's now time to get my platform out there and let voters know why I'm the best person to be sheriff of Benton County," Latham said. "I'm running on my convictions that the sheriff's office should not be partisan, and every citizen has a right to choose their sheriff and not a single political party."

Holloway has said he wants more deputies on the street, which will improve emergency response times. He said he wants to see patrol deputies in unincorporated areas of the county instead of patrolling in cities.

Holloway said he believes his message to voters was the key to his victory Tuesday.

"I think people were looking for someone better for the sheriff's office, and I feel they shared my vision and agree with me on the direction I want to take the sheriff's office."

Holloway said he's relieved to have won the GOP nomination, but it's only a step in the process. The final step is winning in November, he said.

The winner of the November election will be sworn in Jan. 1 and will serve a two-year term.

Metro on 03/23/2016