Rochester native Paul Callaghan edges out Estes in County Sheriff primary

Republican primary winner in the county Sheriff's race Paul Callaghan, seen here at a 'Defend the Police' rally in Manchester last month. (Courtesy/Facebook)

ROCHESTER - The Republican primary for Strafford County Sheriff has been won by Rochester resident Paul Callaghan.

Voting tabulations throughout last night and into today had shown the race fairly tight, but Callaghan said his opponent, former Strafford County Sheriff Wayne Estes, called him this morning around 10 a.m. to concede and give his full-throated endorsement for the Eastside native.

"Wayne had a well-run campaign," an exuberant Callaghan told The Rochester Voice today around Noon. "He kept it clean, kept it classy."

Callaghan has had a 33-year career in law enforcement, 25 of those years at Rochester Police Department where he attained the rank of captain. He then moved to become chief in Kittery (Maine) before joining the Strafford County Sheriff's Department, where he has worked for six years attaining the rank of lieutenant.

He said he will be looking to make several improvements at SCSO, including more training of de-escalation tactics, and working to implement guidelines with the Governor's Commission on Law Enforcement Accountability, Community and Transparency.

Callaghan, who still lives in Rochester, said he's also looking forward to put more teeth in the prosecution of elder fraud abuse offenders.

"I would like to improve our department in fighting the exploitation of the elderly," which he said costs elders between $9 billion and $36.5 billions annually, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

He said while many of the scams originate in other sections of the country and even overseas, many take place "right here among us, sometimes by a family member."

He said the majority of elder abuse scams relate to lottery scams, mortgage scams and dating sites.

"I would like to work with local, state and federal authorities to provide efficiencies to prosecute these crimes," Callaghan said.

Callaghan's win sets up a showdown with Democrat Mark Brave in the General Election on Nov. 3.