The Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office officially declared Chad Scott the winner of the Alachua County sheriff’s race following a recount.

According to a Supervisor of Elections office release sent Wednesday, Scott defeated current Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey by 392 votes. Scott received 62,764 votes of the 133,650 total ballots to Gainey’s 62,372. Pamela Marshall-Koons, who ran as an independent, garnered 8,514 votes.

“I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to announce that the recount has confirmed that we have indeed won the race for Alachua County Sheriff,” Scott said in an email to Mainstreet. “I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you who supported this campaign. I’m honored to serve as your Sheriff and thank you for making this possible.”

The recount was certified by Alachua County Judge Susan Miller-Jones, Qualified Elector Lee Pinkoson and Alachua County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler.

The election, which took place on Nov. 5, initially showed Scott defeating Gainey by 415 votes on 133,612 ballots placed, according to the Supervisor of Elections office.

The margin of victory between Scott and Gainey was 0.31% and Florida law requires a machine recount in an election that is decided by 0.5% or less.

The margin between Scott and Gainey was 0.31%. Florida law requires a machine recount in elections decided by 0.5% or less. If the machine recount shows a margin of 0.25% or less, it would trigger a manual recount, according to Ballotpedia.

The Supervisor of Elections office had until Thursday to finish the initial recount, per state law.

Both Scott and Gainey said on election night that they expected a recount. The two ran a spirited campaign in a race that also included independent Pamela Marshall-Koons, who captured 6.37% of the vote.

Gainey has served as Alachua County sheriff since September 2023, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him following the resignation of Clovis Watson Jr.

Gainey ran unopposed on the Republican ticket in the August primaries. During his time in office, he has emphasized rebuilding staffing levels at the sheriff’s office and opened several new precinct offices.  

Scott, a Democratic challenger who has been in law enforcement for 35 years, said his top two priorities as sheriff would be enhancing community policing, including increasing officer presence in communities, and expanding mental health resources within the department.