Retired RCSO Chief Deputy Pat Clayton said Friday that he declined to qualify in his run against Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle because it was too daunting a task.
He struggled to get the required amount of signatures needed to qualify as an independent candidate and spent time on that formality rather than campaigning. It was about 5,400 signatures that he needed. The veteran lawman had more time to get the signatures, but he had to pay a fee by Friday to qualify to even run as an independent candidate, and he declined to do so.
“My team and I have extended an inordinate amount of time and resources to obtain petition signatures rather than being able to connect with the citizens and voters,” Clayton said in a statement. “The signature petition process seems to be anti-American and anti-Democratic. It should not be this difficult to get on the ballot as an independent candidate.”
Clayton’s decision means Sheriff Whittle will go unopposed and serve another four-year term. The sheriff reacted Friday by saying he understood that the process was going to be difficult for his challenger. Sheriff Whittle also said the potential challenge led many people to reach out with support, both verbally and financially for a possible campaign.
“I don’t want to sound flippant, but I think I have done a good job here in being responsive to needs of the citizens,” Sheriff Whittle said. “I will tell you this: I have been very humbled from the support I have received since he made his announcement that he was going to challenge me.”
Neither Whittle nor Clayton would comment on whether they would run again in 2028. But Clayton expressed his “heartfelt thanks” to my team and my supporters.
Signs of trouble for Clayton surfaced in January when he posted an advertisement seeking “mature teenagers or young adults who would like to work on our petition drive.” He said he chose to take the difficult path of running as an independent because he wanted to be a sheriff for everyone.
“My responsibility is to do my duty without favor or malice,” he said in January, using a slogan of “The People’s Voice.”
Clayton retired in December from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, where he served as Chief Deputy to Sheriff Richard Roundtree for the last 12 years. The main issues Clayton said he would highlight in the Columbia County campaign were “a lack of accessibility, visibility, accountability, fiscal conservatism, and operational tempo from the incumbent.”
Meanwhile, Clayton will continue to teaching an Augusta University class on Emergency Management, a class he has taught for over a decade.
