Prince George’s County sheriff race spotlights key public-safety role

The Prince George’s County sheriff is not a ceremonial post. With full arrest powers, the office handles court security, warrants, court-ordered evictions, civil papers, domestic-violence peace and protective orders, fugitive transport and domestic violence calls, putting the race at the center of how the county’s courts and neighborhoods function every day.

That authority is rooted deep in local history. Prince George’s County was erected in 1695, and the Maryland State Archives lists Thomas Hillary as the first sheriff in 1696. More than three centuries later, the office still sits at the intersection of law enforcement and the legal system, which is why the June 23 closed primary carries real public-safety consequences. Early voting runs June 11-18.

Incumbent John D. B. Carr has spent his career inside that system. A lifelong county resident from Suitland who now lives in Brandywine with his wife and four children, Carr graduated from Bishop McNamara High School, earned a criminology and criminal justice degree at the University of Maryland at College Park, and later completed a master’s in public administration at Norwich University. State records show he has served as sheriff since Dec. 6, 2022, after earlier work as a deputy sheriff and stints in the Courts, Warrants, Domestic Violence Intervention, Administration and Field Operations bureaus.

Carr has pointed to a series of initiatives as proof that the office can do more than execute orders. He says he launched the county’s first Citizens Academy, created a Behavioral Health Unit, expanded domestic-violence services, and started youth engagement and senior safety programs. Those efforts fit the county’s broader behavioral-health push, including the Public Safety Behavioral Health Alliance, which the county says began in May 2020 to help residents and public-safety personnel address behavioral-health challenges.

The sheriff’s office has also leaned hard into domestic-violence enforcement. In October 2025, county authorities said 83 people with outstanding domestic-violence-related warrants were arrested in a sweep. Carr said, “we will not tolerate domestic violence in our county, and no matter where you are, we will find you.” The office has also warned residents about scammers posing as deputies and stealing more than $12,000, a reminder that public trust is part of the job too.

Ron Oliver is Carr’s main rival in the 2026 race and brings a long sheriff’s-office résumé of his own. MarylandIQ says Oliver began in 1990 with the Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff and later served as assistant sheriff, where he oversaw administration, budget, finance and human resources. Carr received 210,265 votes in the 2022 general election, underscoring the office’s place in countywide Democratic politics; this year’s contest will decide who manages one of Prince George’s County’s most consequential powers.