A former law enforcement officer and deputy coroner has announced plans to run for Lexington County sheriff in next year’s election.

David Arnold, 49, announced his campaign for the Republican nomination Thursday at Flight Deck Restaurant in Lexington.

He will challenge incumbent Sheriff Jay Koon, a Republican, who has held the office since a 2015 special election to fill the office after former Sheriff James Metts was indicted on federal charges for illegal use of labor.

Koon won re-election and his first 4-year term in 2016.

“I live here, my children go to school here,” Arnold told The State. “I have a vested interest in what goes on in Lexington County.”