Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood was elected as the Volusia County sheriff on Tuesday.
Chitwood beat out Wendell Bradford, Dave Brannon, Eric Dietrich and James Gillum with unofficial results showing he had 50.6 percent of the vote.
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"It's surreal. It hasn't really sunk in yet to be honest with you," Chitwood said.
Chitwood entered the sheriff's race as the last candidate.
"It is all time consuming. I mean you're away from your family, constantly. And I was a full time police chief. I mean I was working a full time job and then campaigning full time," Chitwood said.
Chitwood said his win is bittersweet, leaving his police department behind.
"A lot of the guys and girls that I work with are here and we spent 10 years together and we brought a lot of changes here and it's going to be difficult," Chitwood said. "On the flip side of it I'm so excited to go work as such an organization as the Volusia County Sheriff's Office."
Current Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson plans to retire in December.
Chitwood said his first order of business is putting a transition team together made up of law enforcement, residents, educators and business owners from across the county.