Wallace Chadwick wins GOP primary, making him Chesapeake's presumed next sheriff

Yahoo

18-06-2025

CHESAPEAKE — Police officer Wallace Chadwick is poised to be Chesapeake's fourth elected sheriff following unofficial results of the Republican primary election Tuesday.
No other candidates filed to run as Democrats or independents in the race, so the GOP primary effectively decides the winner of the 4-year term. The sheriff's office handles jail security, courthouse security, civil enforcement and the school resource program, among other duties.
With all 64 precincts in Chesapeake reporting around 10 p.m., Chadwick earned 7,300, or 58%, of the total vote. Rosado received 5,242 votes, or 42%. Tuesday's results don't include provisional ballots, which will be tallied as part of the canvassing process throughout the week before results are finalized Monday.
Cheers and claps could be heard from dozens of supporters around 9:20 p.m. at Lockside Bar and Grill in Chesapeake as Chadwick, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and current lieutenant and executive officer of the police's Special Operations Division, declared victory.
Chadwick said he ran to challenge a longstanding tradition in the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office of passing the torch to leadership, and also to give deputies more of 'a voice.'
Among his first duties once assuming the role in January is to begin healing the divisions within the party. Fellow Republicans at the state and local level were divided in their support of the candidates.
'I started this campaign with three things: transparency, accountability and leadership,' Chadwick told supporters in a victory speech Tuesday. 'And those are the three things that we will start with on day one with this Republican Party and with the Sheriff's Office. We're going to put things back together where they should be.'
Rosado could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night. But earlier in the night around, Rosado addressed his dozens of supporters at his watch party at Standard Calibrations Inc., disappointed that the votes weren't looking in his favor.
'There's no doubt that we did everything that we could,' Rosado said. 'We did it with integrity. I did not, would not, and will not compromise my integrity.'
Rosado took the reins in November to fulfill the remaining term for former Sheriff Jim O'Sullivan, who retired after more than a decade. Rosado worked in the Chesapeake Sheriff's office for more than 20 years and became the city's first Hispanic undersheriff in 2022. In the office, he's overseen jail operations, expanded the school resource officer program for elementary schools and led anti-bullying initiatives for students.
Immigration enforcement and cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, was at the heart of one of Hampton Roads' most divisive primary faceoffs — with Rosado insisting the city has been following all ICE best practices, and Chadwick arguing Rosado only began holding inmates on ICE detainers after he criticized Rosado's office for not doing so.
Chadwick told The Virginian-Pilot Tuesday night that he'll continue to follow all laws regarding immigration detainers.
'I am honored to have all of you here tonight to support me and to take a chance on a police officer from the police department for your next sheriff,' he said.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, [e-mail]