Lafayette Woods Jr. (Jefferson County Sheriff, Arkansas, candidate 2026)
Lafayette Woods Jr. (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Jefferson County Sheriff in Arkansas. Woods was on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Woods completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Lafayette Woods Jr. provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on February 21, 2026:
- High school: Pine Bluff High School
- Bachelor's: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 2004
- Graduate: Liberty University, 2019
- Profession: Politician
- Incumbent officeholder: Yes
- Campaign website
- Campaign endorsements
- Campaign Facebook
Elections
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Jefferson County Sheriff
Incumbent Lafayette Woods Jr. (D) and Mark Cannon (D) ran in the Democratic primary for Jefferson County Sheriff on March 3, 2026.
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| Mark Cannon | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
To view Woods's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Woods in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lafayette Woods Jr. completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Woods' responses.
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Motivated by a commitment to ethical leadership and public safety, Woods sought office in 2018 and was elected Jefferson County’s 32nd Sheriff, assuming office on January 1, 2019.
Before becoming sheriff, Woods served in the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division and later with the Tri-County Drug Task Force, where he investigated and disrupted drug-trafficking organizations across Jefferson, Lincoln, and Arkansas counties. His work led to assignment with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Little Rock District Office under the Gulf Coast High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiative. During this period, he also oversaw the Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division and advanced through the ranks to major in less than three years.
As Sheriff, he has overseen measurable public-safety improvements.- Jefferson County deserves steady, experienced leadership. Nearly eight years ago, voters entrusted me to serve as the 32nd Sheriff, and together we have delivered measurable results. Overall crime is down more than 16 percent, with major and violent crime reduced by 12.7 percent, including an additional 8.82 percent year-to-date decline in 2025. We strengthened training and operations, expanded community partnerships, and maintained 100 percent compliance on every state and federal jail inspection. Public safety is about leadership, service, and accountability. The work is not finished. This election is about continuing progress, not risking a step backward.
- Public safety works best when it is ethical, transparent, and collaborative. As sheriff, I have focused on prevention as well as enforcement by expanding mental health and substance-use resources, modernizing training and technology, and strengthening partnerships with residents, clergy, and community leaders. We launched evidence-based Group Violence Intervention strategies, improved accountability through modern tools, and secured more than $1 million in grants for crime reduction, technology, and courthouse security. My approach is simple. Protect the community, support deputies, treat people with dignity, and make decisions guided by data and integrity.
- I am seeking a third term to finish the work we started and prepare Jefferson County for tomorrow’s challenges. Together, we built durable capacity by overhauling policy, improving pay and benefits, strengthening recruitment and retention, and launching the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Foundation to invest in professional development and families. The next chapter means expanding violence-reduction strategies, growing mental health responses in the field and inside our facilities, publishing transparent public-safety metrics, and building leadership pipelines that reflect the diversity and values of our county. My commitment is public safety with integrity, today and for the future.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
