What to Know
- Gregory Tony narrowly defeated Scott Israel in the race for Broward Sheriff
- The heated race pitted the current sheriff, Tony, against the man he replaced, Israel
- Tony will be a strong favorite in the general election in November
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony narrowly defeated the man he replaced in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the county's top cop position.
With 37.31% of the vote, Tony claimed victory over former sheriff Scott Israel, who had received 35.31% of the vote with 576 of 577 precincts reporting.
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"I am deeply honored that Democratic voters have chosen me to lead the Broward Sheriff's Office into a brighter, safer future. We've come a long way in the last eighteen months, but there is still much work to be done," Tony said in a statement Tuesday night.
Tony will be a strong favorite in the general election in November because Democrats hold a two-to-one advantage over Republicans in Broward County. He'll face Republican H. Wayne Clark, an attorney and U.S. Army veteran, in November.
Tony replaced Israel in 2019 after Gov. Ron DeSantis fired Israel over his handling of the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead.
Tony’s campaign had been jarred by his failure to disclose that he fatally shot an 18-year-old in 1993 when he was 14 in Philadelphia. A judge concluded Tony acted in self-defense, but Tony never revealed the shooting to his previous police employer, the governor or the investigators who vetted him.
Tony is the county's first Black sheriff and a former sergeant in the suburban Coral Springs Police Department. Tony also ran a consulting company that trained officers to confront active shooters.
Israel had won election twice before he was removed by DeSantis.
