Leading in the polls against his Republican opponents, Ed Gonzalez He has won his third term with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office after defeating challengers Mike Knox and Joe Danna in the general election.

As of 6 a.m., González was leading with 53% of the vote, totaling 779,938 votes, with 97.9% of precincts reporting.

A Democrat, the now third sheriff is a former homicide detective, hostage negotiator and District H. City hall member.

SEE ALSO: New Texas law complicates race for Harris County Sheriff

González issued a statement about X thanking voters:

“Every day for the past 8 years, our team at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office has strived to earn and maintain your trust in our commitment to keeping all communities safe. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the people of Harris County for using their vote to tell us once again that we are doing it right. I will continue to work with our many partners to prioritize safety. and ensure our brave HCSO teammates have all the support and resources they need to meet their high expectations. Thank you for this honor and know that we will never take you for granted.

Knox, 64, a former at-large member of the City Council who worked for 15 years as houston police officer and it was a pretty good showdown for the sheriff.

Earlier this week, Gonzalez and Danna said Knox should have been disqualified from the race due to the new Texas law requiring sheriff candidates to have “an active permanent peace officer license.”

Knox, who did not meet that requirement when he registered to run, now meets it and was able to be included on the ballot.

Gonzalez oversees more than 4,600 employees, the county jail and nearly 1,800 square miles, including unincorporated Harris County and 41 municipalities.