Retired law enforcement officer seeks to primary Sheriff Jenkins in 2026
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins has announced that he will seek a sixth term, and he already has a challenger.
Jenkins, a Republican, made the announcement on WFMD's 'Mid-Maryland Live' this week, the outlet reported on Friday.
Asked on the broadcast if he was running for reelection, Jenkins replied: 'Absolutely. Take it to the bank.'
Jenkins was not available for an interview with The Frederick News-Post on Friday.
Jenkins was first elected as sheriff in 2006. His reelection in 2022 made him the first person to hold the Frederick County office for five terms.
Prior to being elected sheriff, Jenkins served three years in the Frederick County Sheriff's Office's patrol division and 13 years in the agency's criminal investigations unit.
Gary Morton, who spent five years on the corrections side of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office and another 30 years on the law enforcement side before retiring in 2015, filed earlier this month as a Republican candidate for sheriff in 2026.
Jenkins has yet to file his own statement of candidacy. The deadline to do so is Feb. 24, 2026, at 9 p.m., according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.
In an interview on Wednesday, Morton said he had not spoken with Jenkins about the race, but said he knew the current sheriff is aware of his candidacy.
Morton, of Ijamsville, said he was motivated to run for sheriff by a continued sense of pride in his former agency and a desire for change.
Morton said he considered running for sheriff shortly after his retirement, but decided against it at the time due to his involvement with Camp Ezri, a West Virginia-based ministry for at-risk youth, and his work as a background investigator for the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service.
Reading about the indictment of Jenkins renewed his interest in the job, Morton said.
In April 2023, Jenkins was indicted on charges of making false statements to the federal government on behalf of The Machine Gun Nest owner Robert Krop as part of a conspiracy to illegally acquire machine guns.
Krop was acquitted following a jury trial in October 2024, and the charges against Jenkins were dropped the next month. But the 19-month prosecution made it more difficult for the agency's men and women to do their jobs, Morton said.
'When something like that happens to an agency, especially your leader, it's not just him that's affected by it,' Morton said. 'It affects the people who work in the agency. And I think that, in essence, it causes a lack of trust with the community.'
If elected, Morton said he would spend the first 90 days of his term reviewing operations in each branch of the Sheriff's Office including the detention center, courthouse, patrol and specialty law enforcement divisions and the administrative offices.
Morton said a major goal of his would be to re-establish an academy within the Sheriff's Office, so that the agency does not have to outsource training of new recruits and experienced officers to other entities.
Morton said he would also work to maintain good relationships with partner agencies and organizations, increase community outreach, and support recruitment and retention efforts in the Sheriff's Office.
Morton said he supports the Sheriff's Office's participation in the federal 287(g) program, but believes the agency should do more to ensure the general public understands it.
The federal 287(g) program allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local law enforcement officers to assist ICE with immigration enforcement.
In Frederick County, where the program has been in place since 2008, correctional officers are trained to inquire about inmates' immigration statuses only at the Adult Detention Center.
Morton also expressed support for the Sheriff's Office's use of technologies such as body-worn cameras and drones, saying he wished both programs had been implemented much earlier.
The Sheriff's Office started its drone program in July 2024. All Frederick County Sheriff's Office deputies have had body-worn cameras since April 2023, according to previous reporting.
Since he filed to run for sheriff, Morton said he has been inundated with calls from people asking how they can support his campaign.
'I'm excited about it,' Morton said. 'I think it would be a great honor to be a part of the department again and maybe bring it to another level.'
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