Because there was no Republican opponent, for some time it appeared that Democrat Chuck Jackson would be the next Brooke County sheriff.

But an aggressive write-in campaign by fellow Democrat Mike Allman made the race quickly heat up.

Even just driving through a small section of the county, there are numerous signs for Allman as a write-in candidate. He also sent out mailings explaining to voters how to vote for a write-in candidate.

Allman filed with the county clerk's office to be considered a write-in candidate but didn't have to pay a filing fee.

"There's a certain time for you to get on the ballot, so their name doesn't appear on the ballot. So technically, that's what you pay the filing fee … (to get) your name on the ballot," Brooke County Clerk Sylvia Benzo said.

All write-in votes must be counted manually and they will be counted Tuesday night. Election officials said they aren't sure how long it will take to tally up those votes and hopefully call the race.

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