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County Commissioner Eddy Lange beat out former Jail Administrator Bob Patterson with 55 percent of the vote. Lange says he felt confident going into the runoff since he was the leader during the May primaries.

"I feel very honored and very privileged to be the people's choice to represent the Republican party in the upcoming general election," Lange said.

Tuesday night’s loss was difficult but Patterson said he’s looking towards the future.

"It was disappointing but I'm happy to see that so many people came back to the polls and were engaged in the political process," Patterson said. "I'll probably retire from Bell County after serving all these years. A couple of employment opportunities have presented themselves in the course of the campaign in the correctional field."

Now Lange will face democratic challenger Frank Hernandez Sr. in November. Both are trying to take over the job that's been held by Sheriff Dan Smith for nearly 30 years. If he is elected during the general election in November, he promises change.

"We're going to reallocate resources, do a top to bottom review to determine the best use of our personnel, our facilities and our equipment," Lange said. "Yeah, things are going to be changing."