Most of the candidates for Hamilton County sheriff are hesitant to say that this year’s presidential race will have any effect on who will be the county’s top cop, but party and campaign officials see some connections.

Local campaign volunteers for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will help out with Democratic sheriff candidate Greg Beck’s efforts to get out the vote, said John Bailes, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.

“Whatever the Obama folks do for Beck works to their advantage in November,” he said.

Nearly three months separate the Aug. 7 county general election and the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Obama volunteers will help the local party with phone banking efforts for the Beck campaign in the days leading up to the Aug. 7 sheriff election, Mr. Bailes said.

Mr. Beck said his campaign workers “were side by side” with Obama volunteers at the Bessie Smith Strut on June 9, but that’s the only work with the Obama campaign he knows of.

“It would be nice,” he said of working with the Obama campaign. “I think they have a good organization. But I think mine tops them all.”

Bobby Wood, campaign manager for Republican sheriff candidate Jim Hammond, said the Hammond campaign is working to pull in the campaign of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

“The Hammond campaign is better organized for getting out the vote than the McCain people right now,” he said. “We’re actually trying to boost their efforts.”

Mr. Hammond said he wants to “channel some of my efforts” toward working with the McCain campaign.

“I’m certainly going to be a McCain supporter,” he said.

Mr. Hammond also stressed his conservatism and support for military efforts overseas.

Mr. Beck said he is uncertain on what effect, if any, this year’s political atmosphere would have on the sheriff race.

“I think Obama did well with the primary here in Hamilton County,” he said. “But I can’t tell what’s going on with us based on what’s going on with them.”

Sen. Obama won the Democratic primary in Hamilton County with about 52 percent of the vote to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 44 percent.

Independent candidate Tim Akins said the political atmosphere of the year may have people in more of a partisan mindset.

“It’s definitely a Democrat-Republican race,” he said of the presidential election. “It may cause people to vote down party lines.”

Write-in sheriff candidate Fred Fuson said he didn’t see a lot of overlap between the national race and the local sheriff election.

“When you come down to a local level, a sheriff is expected to take care of the community at large, whether it be from terrorism or local hoodlums,” he said.

Independent candidate Jim Winters said he also did not see the connection.

“I don’t see how the presidential race would have anything to do with Hamilton County,” he said. “When it comes down to home, here in Hamilton County, it needs to be on a more personal note than a national level.”

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