Guthrie leads in Harris County Sheriff runoff

Unofficial results show Louis Guthrie earned the most votes in the Republican runoff for Harris County Sheriff.

He will now face off against incumbent Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia in the Nov. 6 election.

Guthrie has received 57.26 percent of the vote, or 68,831 votes, while Carl Pittman has earned 42.74 percent, or 51,379 votes, according to unofficial results.

"We're very happy with the results and are looking foward to November," Guthrie said. "We were pleased with the numbers."

Guthrie and Pittman beat out six other candidates in May's primary election, causing the runoff election. In May, Guthrie earned 38,888 votes, or 30.79 percent, while Pittman received 21.35 percent with 26,969 votes, according to election results. Garcia won the May Democratic primary with 70.1 percent of the vote, or 45,497 votes.

Garcia has served as Harris County Sheriff since early 2009 after defeating incumbent Tommy Thomas in the November 2008 election. He served on the Houston Police Department and Houston City Council before taking office.

Guthrie began working for the Harris County Sheriff's office in 1991, and was appointed by commissioners court a decade later to the position of vice president of the county's Cultural Educational Facilities Finance Corporation. He now works as the director of special crimes and narcotics for the Liberty County Sheriff's Office.