Jerry Neil Drops Out

A Republican Central Committee has one less candidate on its ballot. One of the candidates in the running for the Republican nomination for Jasper County Sheriff has stepped down. The current Jasper County Sheriff`s Departments Chief Deputy, Jerry Neil has decided not to run for the office of sheriff. Neil says he lives his life to do what`s right and says if he thinks he can make things better, even if it`s at his expense then he`ll do it. Neil told the media today he`s never seen the party so distraught or pulled in two different ways. He says he felt removing himself from the race was best for both the Republican Party and the Jasper County Sheriff`s Department. "I called Greg Dagnan and notified him of this and I also notified Sheriff dunn that I was going to do that. Both were kind fo suprised and they said well i appreciate your decision and i just wish both of them good luck,"said Jerry Neil. "He just explained to me that he was looking out for the Republican party and thought that was the best thing to do and I appreciate his call and am pleased that i`m one step closer to being the republican nominee,"said Greg Dagnan. Dagnan says he was suprised Neil would remove himself from the race, but he also says he always knew it was a possibility because Neil is known for doing what is right. The Jasper County Republican Central Committee will meet Tuesday night to select their candidate for sheriff. They are meeting again because the first time Dagnan was chosen with a plurality of votes. But in order to be certified the candidate must win with a majority of votes. Dagnan had 32 votes, Neil had 30 and Dunn had five. The Republicans will meet Tuesday in Carthage to nominate either Archie Dunn or Greg Dagnan as their candidate. The Republican candidate will face Democrat J.D. Love in the special election September 30th. Reported By: Jennifer Grannan