North Carolina › Wayne County › Wayne County Sheriff
2 candidates are tracked for Wayne County Sheriff on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Larry M. Pierce and Reginald (Reggie) Edwards. Candidate information follows official Wayne County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Incumbent Larry Pierce won the March 3, 2026 Republican primary over Stephen (Stevie) Howell and Ricky Hooks, per the NC State Board of Elections' certified candidate listing, and faces Democrat Reginald (Reggie) Edwards in the November 3, 2026 general election.
Larry Pierce spent four decades in law enforcement, including as a Goldsboro police officer, a Wayne County reserve deputy, and a State Bureau of Investigation agent, and also owns Nahunta Pork Center, a meat shop and market in Pikeville, per the Goldsboro News-Argus. He was appointed sheriff in February 2014 after the death of former Sheriff Carey Winders, was elected to his first full term that November, and was reelected without opposition in 2018 and 2022. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the certified candidate filing is the only verifiable source for Larry M. Pierce.
Reginald (Reggie) Edwards served as a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper in Wayne County for nearly 30 years, from 1991 through 2019, and has been a first sergeant with the National Guard since 1985, per the Goldsboro News-Argus. No campaign website was found for him as of September 8, 2026. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Reginald (Reggie) Edwards.
2026 priorities (per the per the Goldsboro News-Argus)
- Expand the Community Oriented Prevention Education (COPE) program, which teaches students about drugs, violence, peer pressure and gang activity
- Increase prevention of drug- and gang-related crime, particularly through youth intervention
- Build community relationships and transparency, and ensure deputies maintain high ethical and training standards
