MIAMI COUNTY — Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak was re-elected as the Miami County Sheriff, receiving approximately 58 percent of votes, according to unofficial election results on Tuesday.
Duchak received 6,769 votes while his opponent, Paul Reece, received 4,892 votes.
“First, I would like to thank my family for all of the support and putting up with so much,” Duchak said on Tuesday. “I also cannot thank all of my supporters and my great staff enough as I would not be where I am without all of them.”
Duchak is currently the Miami County Sheriff and was first elected in 2016. He was challenged by Reece, of Piqua, for the Miami County Sheriff position during the March 17 primary election, which was postponed and moved to a mail-in only election. As there were no Democratic candidates on the ballot for the winner to run against in the fall, voters had to choose the Republican primary ballot in order to vote for sheriff.
“Additionally, I would like to thank the residents of this county for supporting me in a second term as your Miami County Sheriff,” Duchak said. “I pledge that I will continue to serve our community by honoring the values that make Miami County a great place to work, live, and raise a family. I chose to run a positive campaign. Myself, my family, staff, and many others were the targets of baseless political attacks using purposely distorted facts and fabrications. My decisions not to address those practices during the election was simply a matter of wanting to keep the focus of my campaign on the work and accomplishments of the employees of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have all been adjusting to the challenges that the pandemic has brought into our lives,” Duchak continued. “Those challenges will continue into future months and many important decisions will lie ahead for all of us in order to get our communities back to functioning normally. My staff and I stand ready to meet those challenges, and with all of us working together, I am more than confident we will succeed.”
Duchak has had 33 years of experience in law enforcement, with 30 of those years serving in the Miami County Sheriff’s Office. He has also held the following positions while at the Sheriff’s Office: Patrol Deputy, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, Detective Lieutenant, Administrative Captain, Patrol Captain and Chief Deputy.
Reece, a Chief Warrant Officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, has had 26 years of experience as a deputy sheriff, including 16 years in Miami County and 10 in Montgomery County. Concurrent to that service, Reece also has had 23 years of military service in the United States Army and United States Air Force.
“It’s been a tough election cycle for everyone,” Reece said. He said he was thankful for all of his supporters and everyone who helped on his campaign.
“I feel good about the campaign we ran,” he said. “I’m very proud of what we’ve done.”
