VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — It was a long election day for Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse as he was up early in the morning moving inmates into the county’s new jail.

By the evening he was at the Fraternal Order of Police building celebrating his re-election as the Vigo County Sheriff.

Plasse expressed gratitude to his family and his team as he addressed a crowd of supporters Tuesday night. It’s a long road that will now continue with his re-election. In addition to campaigning and being the sheriff, Plasse has been battling cancer over the last few months.

“This year, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get out a lot because I’m fighting cancer, being sick, so I didn’t do as much as I wanted to,” he said. “That makes you think, does that make a difference? Do people know why I’m not out there?”

He said he felt his re-election showed the appreciation he’s received from Vigo County residents.

“I really do care about this community, and it’s really gratifying to know this community cares about me,” he said. “I just feel blessed this community voted to re-elect me to do this job for another four years.”

Plasse said his first steps following the election will be to work on implementing programs to help reduce re-offending rates within Vigo County.

“Some of the first steps is starting some of the programming we had before we started getting overcrowded at the old jail, and didn’t have room to do that. So we have dedicated space now, so our goal is to get inmates the help they need, and hopefully they don’t come back again,” he said.

He said that the road to re-election was longer and harder than his campaign four years ago. He thanked the people of Vigo County for their support.

“I’m just very grateful to this community. I love serving this community. I can’t think of a better place to live and work and raise a family,” said Plasse. “I’m just so happy to be here in Vigo County.”

Plasse’s opponent Aaron Loudermilk will return to his seat on the Vigo County Council.

Plasse added that he looks forward to being cancer free in 2023, and continuing to serve the community.