Snohomish County sheriff concedes as challenger takes commanding lead in early results

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. -- The Snohomish County Sheriff has conceded after early returns showed him trailing a sergeant from his department who ran against him.

Sheriff Ty Trenary trailed Adam Fortney by more than 10 points in early results Tuesday night.

A key difference between the candidates in this race is how they believed the office handled jail bookings for misdemeanor crimes. Fortney said he favored a tough on crime approach and thinks criminals should be jailed if the offense warrants it.

Sheriff Trenary argued that it's more complicated than that, saying prisoners have died in custody and that medical issues need to be considered before booking someone. He also denied being soft on low-level crime.

After early results showed Fortney leading with more than 56 percent of the vote, Trenary said that the voters had spoken and that he would support his challenger.

Results will continue to come in and the next ballot count will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

This is a developing story and will be updated