 In the 2011 nonpartisan blanket primary, Republican Julian Curtis Whittington (born January 1959), a former chief criminal deputy under Deen, won the right to succeed Deen, who decided to retire.Whittington polled more than 68 percent of the vote.Whittingon's closest rival, Mike McConnell, a former deputy sheriff under Deen and also a Republican, received 20 percent of the ballots cast.