Guilford County Sheriff Candidates Queen, Byrd Outline Safety Plans, Emphasize Community Trust

Billy Queen and Phil Byrd, Republican candidates for Guilford County sheriff, publicly outlined competing public-safety priorities on Feb. 24, 2026 that center on violent-crime reduction and rebuilding trust between deputies and residents. Queen framed his campaign around investigative cooperation and community engagement to address violent crime, drug trafficking and gang activity; Byrd prioritized improving retention among deputies and lowering gun violence after retiring as a Guilford County sheriff’s office captain in 2014 following a 30-year career.

Queen’s campaign materials, announced from Greensboro, NC, present three core principles labeled Real Public Safety, Community Connection, and Restoring Integrity. The campaign describes Real Public Safety as “Tackling violent crime, drug trafficking, and gang activity with proven investigative strategies and interagency collaboration.” The Community Connection principle reads “Rebuilding trust between deputies and residents through transparency, respect, and honest outreach,” and Restoring Integrity promises “Ending corruption, enforcing accountability at all levels, and setting a standard of ethical leadership from day one.”

Queen’s campaign biography catalogs a long service record that the campaign calls “more than four decades in military, local, and federal service.” The biography states he volunteered for the U.S. Army after high school, served in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 18th Airborne Corps, the 18th MP Brigade and the 11th Special Forces Group, and later worked as a sergeant with the High Point Police Department, a Border Patrol agent, and a special agent with the U.S. Treasury Department. Campaign copy includes the statement, “The people of Guilford County deserve a sheriff’s office that works for them, that listens to every voice,” and adds that “The safety and security of Guilford County and its citizens will be enhanced through proven programs that integrate community engagement in combating violent crime and drug problems.”

Phil Byrd’s campaign emphasis, as reported in the candidate profiles, draws on his 30 years inside the Guilford County sheriff’s office, with retirement at the rank of captain in 2014. Byrd’s publicly stated priorities focus on improving retention for law-enforcement staff and lowering gun violence in Guilford County; his profile in the February 24 coverage did not include direct quotations or detailed policy blueprints outlining budgets, staffing plans or program timelines.

Both campaigns present overlapping goals of restoring trust between law enforcement and communities while diverging on strategy: Queen foregrounds interagency investigative strategies and anti-corruption oversight, Byrd foregrounds personnel retention and targeted efforts to reduce firearm-related harm. Neither candidate’s public material in the Feb. 24 profiles included specific budget figures, measurable retention targets, or concrete program names that would allow voters to compare costs and timelines.

The Republican primary winner will face incumbent Sheriff Danny Rogers, a Democrat who’s running for re-election. The Feb. 24 candidate profiles set the terms of the primary debate around crime-fighting tactics, officer morale and departmental accountability ahead of that general-election matchup.