With his family and supporters alongside him, Aaron Rovenstine strolled into the Justice Building late Tuesday night with a grin on his face and victory at hand.

Rovenstine will be carrying on the legacy of his father, Al Rovenstine, as Kosciusko County's next sheriff. He won over his opponent, Democrat Jeff Bronsing.

Rovenstine received 10,140 votes, or 58.41 percent. Bronsing received 7,220 votes, for 41.59 percent.

"This one was just so quiet," Rovenstine said. "In a lot of ways, it was more difficult.

"I knew it was going to be tough."

Rovenstine said he was not prepared yet to make any decisions about his staff. He said he planned to rest for a while before he decides who best fits into what position.

Bronsing said he was a little down because his party didn't come out on top. But he thanked everyone who supported him in his race and the Democrat party.

"We learned a lot. We had a lot of fun," Bronsing said.

He said running against Rovenstine was like running against an incumbent. He said it was obvious that running against a Republican in the county is very difficult.

"It's obvious by sheer numbers," Bronsing said.

He said he would return to work at 6 a.m. today as normal.

In other county races, Avis Gunter will retain her seat as county commissioner for the southern district. She won over Corbitt Hollon with 73.81 percent of the vote. Hollon had 26.19 percent.

"I'm just glad it's over," Gunter said Tuesday night. "It's (now) business as usual."

In the county council races, Republican Charles Tranter won his District 1 seat with 85.64 percent of the vote. His opponent, Libertarian Michael Houze, captured 552 votes, or 14.36 percent of the vote. Republican Harold Jones will keep his District 2 council seat by capturing 2,975 votes. Democrat Jason Haines won 1,155 votes and Libertarian Deanna Newton captured 265 votes.

Libertarian Daniel Stevens was defeated by Republican Bradley Tandy. Tandy received 87.89 percent of the vote compared to Stevens' 12.11 percent.

Unopposed John Kinsey will hold the District 4 council seat with 3,498 votes.

When asked about the overall results in the county, Republican Party chairman Mike Miner said, "We have a strong Republican county."

In the Syracuse town council races, William Cutter will keep his Ward 1 seat for at least another term. He ran unopposed and received 479 votes.

Also remaining on the council, Democrat Paul Stoelting barely holds on his seat on the council. He received 345 votes, or 51.96 percent. His opponent Republican Nelson Byland received 319 votes, or 48.04 percent. [[In-content Ad]]