Benton County may have a new sheriff before Nov. 21. 

The Benton County Board of Commissioners will hold a public meeting at 9 a.m. Nov. 20 at the Benton County Administration Center in Kennewick to interview the three candidates put forward by the Benton County Republican Party for the recently vacated position.  

The state constitution lays out the process for determining nominees for state legislative and partisan offices if they are vacated. It requires appointees be of the same political party as the vacating official with the county board of commissioners making the appointment.   

All three candidates are current or former Benton County sheriff deputies: Jeremy Carrigan, who was with the agency from 2011-23; Michael Clark, a 22-year department veteran who is the interim sheriff appointed by commissioners after Sheriff Tom Croskrey retired; and Brad Klippert, a current sheriff’s deputy who previously served as state representative and was recently elected to the Kennewick City Council. 

Following the interviews, commissioners will go into a closed-door session to discuss all the candidates before returning to open session to consider the appointment.  

The commissioners must appoint a new sheriff on or before Nov. 30, or Gov. Bob Ferguson will determine the appointment.   

The appointee will serve until the November 2026 general election.