For the first time in 20 years, Cherokee County will elect a new sheriff this year.

On Tuesday, five men with more than 100 years of combined law enforcement experience will square off during the Republican primary, among them Brooks Allison, Rick Burgess, Jimmy Cash, Joel Hill and Steve Mueller.

All five men have been hitting the campaign trail hard in recent weeks, knocking on doors and attending debates in an effort to sell themselves to voters.

Allison comes into the race with 25 years of experience with the City of Gaffney Police Department and 30 years of military service. With the City of Gaffney, he rose through the police department ranks and retired as Uniform Division Captain, in charge of all uniformed officers.

Burgess comes into the race with 27 years of law enforcement experience, 23 of them with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office where he rose to the rank of captain of the Metro Narcotics Unit. Since leaving the sheriff’s office he has worked as an investigator for the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Cash spent 22 and a half years working for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, where he rose through the ranks and retired as captain of the uniformed officer’s division. His military service includes four years in the U.S. Navy and the past eight years in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Hill comes into the race with 34 years of experience with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. First hired in 1976, he rose through the ranks and since 1994 has served as chief deputy under Sheriff Bill Blanton, making him second in command of the office.

Mueller is a 20-year veteran of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, where he started as a trooper and rose to the rank of First Sergeant. As First Sergeant, he commanded the troopers in Post A of the Highway Patrol, which covers Cherokee and Union Highways. He resigned from the Highway Patrol to campaign for the sheriff’s office post.

With five men splitting the vote, most observers expect a runoff will be needed to decide the outcome of the hard-fought battle.

While the sheriff’s race has likely been the most visible local race, it’s far from the only one voters will have to consider when they step inside the polls on Tuesday.

Incumbent Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler faces opposition in the Republican primary from Glenn Fuller, a retired member of the South Carolina Highway Patrol and a former deputy coroner. Fowler won election to the post in 2006 and was named Coroner of the Year last year by the state Coroner’s Association.

Cherokee County Probate Judge Josh Queen, meanwhile, faces opposition in the primary from Amy Strain Wyatt.

In the race for Cherokee County Council, incumbent councilman Bailey Humphries is seeing opposition from Mike Fowlkes, a former member of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, and Jimbo Martin, a former shipping company executive, while incumbent councilman Charles Mathis is facing opposition from Terry Medley.