3 Piscataquis County officers are vying to replace outgoing sheriff

Three members of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office have filed to run to succeed Sheriff Robert Young.

Sgt. Guy Edward Dow, R-Guilford, Lt. James B. Kane, R-Sangerville, and Chief Deputy Todd Douglas Lyford, R-Brownville, are all running to take over for Sheriff Robert Young, who announced in January that he will not seek reelection.

Dow, Kane and Lyford will all be on the June 9 Republican Party primary ballot. With three candidates, the Piscataquis County Sheriff is one of the most contested county races in the state. While there are no Democratic candidates, one could still run as an independent or write-in candidate for the November election.

Party candidates who are elected at the primary qualify to appear on the November general election ballot with the election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Young was elected sheriff in 2018 after decades of working in law enforcement, starting out as a corrections officer and dispatcher and rising through the ranks to become chief deputy at the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office.

Offices included in the 2026 primary election are U.S. Senator, representative to Congress (both districts), governor, all 35 Maine State Senate districts, all 151 Maine House districts and various county offices.

Five candidates have filed to run for the Senate District 4 seat — which is all of Piscataquis County plus the towns of Bradford, Charleston, Corinna, Corinth, Dexter, Exeter, Garland, Glenburn, Hudson, Kenduskeag and Levant in Penobscot County — with Sen. Stacey Guerin, R-Glenburn, terming out. 

The Republican primary will consist of Joseph P. Guerin, R-Glenburn (spouse of Stacey Guerin); Chad Richard Perkins, R-Dover-Foxcroft; Gregory Pierce, R-Glenburn; and Zachary Anders Wood, R-Levant.

The Democratic primary ballot for Senate District 4 has Lisa G. Kalp, D-Corinth.

Incumbent Rep. James L. White, R-Gulford, is the only candidate on a primary ballot for House District 30.

Andrew R. Torbett, R-Atkinson Township, who is a Piscataquis County commissioner, is running for House District 31. Perkins, who currently holds the seat, has filed in the Senate District 4 race. There is no candidate on the Democratic ballot. 

Shawn L. Lancaster, R-Garland, is the only candidate on either ballot for House District 32. Current Rep. Steven D. Foster, R-Dexter, will term out after this year.

A pair of Republican candidates are seeking the Piscataquis County Commissioners District 1 seat. They are incumbent Paul T. Davis Sr., R-Sangerville, and Paul R. Zimmerman, R-Guilford. 

A pair of Piscataquis County officials are running for reelection unopposed. They are Register of Deeds Gail J. Clark, R-Brownville, and Treasurer Johanna D. Tuner, R-Guilford.