TIFTON, GA (WALB) -
The Tift County Sheriff's race has been hotly contested for months.
The whole time, Tift County voters have used Facebook to show support for their favorite candidates. At times, the status updates have been controversial.
In a place where waving from the street is still a great way to reach voters, Tift County has seen more and more voters going to their keyboards to express their opinions.
"The main thing is keeping people involved and excited because they talk about it," said Steve Wood. "They put it on their facebook pages. They share it. It really just spreads the word and gets the message out."
Both Steve Wood and Gene Scarbrough have leaned on Facebook to gain support in the Sheriff election.
"It's had its good points, bad too," said Gene Scarbrough. "Overall, it is a good way to get information out on time, in fact, real time."
But some voters have gotten courageous at the keyboard, even using it as a tool for slanderous politics.
"I just tell them, look, we are running a clean campaign," said Wood. "Keep it clean. Don't put stuff like that on facebook."
"I want to ask the people on both sides to just calm down and let Mr. Wood and I do this our way," said Scarbrough. "Come Tuesday, vote for whoever you like and handle it that way."
But, at the end of the day, candidates are happy to have Facebook as a campaign tool.
"It's really humbling and it really pushes you," said Wood. "It keeps me built up and pushing forward."
And it is not just the technologically savvy generation online in this election.
"There are more and more older people on it speaking out," said Scarbrough. "Whether it is good or bad, they are speaking out."
They both just want voters to 'like' them.
Both candidates say they look at Facebook on their smart phones everyday of the campaign. They both urge supporters to refrain from dirty politics online.
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Steve Wood
Gene Scarbrough
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