Hardwick officially enters race for sheriff. (SAR)

Hardwick officially enters race for sheriff
By Stuart Korfhage
Posted at 6:18 PM
Updated at 6:47 PM

Confirming what has been rumored for a year or more, St. Augustine Beach Police Chief Rob Hardwick is officially part of the race to replace St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar, who announced that he will not run again.

Hardwick’s campaign website was up on Monday, and he was listed as an official candidate on the Supervisor of Elections website.

The 2020 race also features Chris Strickland, a former director with St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office who resigned in 2016. They will square off in the Republican primary Aug. 18, 2020. There are no Democratic candidates so far in this Republican-dominated county.

Both men have enjoyed long careers in law enforcement. Hardwick was selected as SABPD chief in 2012 and started in early 2013. He previously served as the assistant chief investigator with the State Attorney’s Office in the 7th Judicial Circuit. Hardwick also has experience at the St. Augustine Police Department, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Corrections.

Hardwick in an Army veteran who just retired from the Florida Army National Guard in 2018.

Strickland served 27 years with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. He had a nine-month head start to the campaign and has already raised $138,000.