There’s a three-way race in the Republican Party for sheriff in Merrimack County. Frank Cassidy is seeking a second chance to win the office, competing in the party primary with Jason Gerhard and Ben Weir.
Pete Shephard, a former Boscawen police officer, is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Sheriff David Croft, a Democrat, is not running for reelection.
The primary election is Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Among the GOP contenders, Cassidy has by far the most experience. He has served in the sheriff’s office for 21 years, and was an undercover drug officer in the sheriff’s department under Croft before resigning. The two men disagreed about the circumstances of Cassidy’s departure. Cassidy ran against Croft in 2024 and lost by four percentage points.
Cassidy spent four years in the Marine Corps, had stints as a prison guard and as a police officer in Loudon and Epsom, and then joined the sheriff’s department. He says his experience gives him the knowledge and ability to manage a department that has five divisions and about 60 employees with a budget of more than $5 million.
In terms of law enforcement, Cassidy has argued that a strict approach combined with treatment options could make the department more effective.
County sheriffs enforce civil orders, provide support for the court system, and support or supplement local police departments and state police as needed.
Jason Gerhard served a 12-year prison sentence for aiding a Plainfield couple who refused to pay federal income tax. While in prison, he wrote a 72-page treatise calling for a “multi-front offensive” against the federal government and mega-corporations.
In 2022, he was elected as a state representative for Northfield and a portion of Franklin, but did not run again, saying the office was ineffective for his goals.
On his Facebook campaign site, he says, “We need to ask government actors at all all levels. By what authority are you acting to infringe upon my God-given liberties? … The key to my campaign is to bring the sheriff back to his rightful spot as the shield and sword of The People. No more playing do-boy to petty tyrants.”
Cassidy defeated Gerhard in the 2024 GOP primary for county sheriff by a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
Ben Weir ran for office as a Libertarian in 2022 but resigned from the state party earlier this year as part of sweeping changes in that group. He has called himself a “freedom absolutist” who emphasizes opposition to restrictions on gun ownership. In terms of drugs, he says “we cannot arrest our way out of addiction” but should support treatment for users while cracking down on traffickers.
