For the past few months Glenn Ross had been sheriff of Penobscot County by appointment. That changed Tuesday night after Ross defeated his one-time boss by a wide margin.

Ross, a Republican, defeated Democrat Timothy Richardson with 64. 5 percent of the votes to Richardson’s 35.5 percent as of midnight.

The vote tally was 23,689 to 13,019 for Ross.

Richardson, who served as sheriff from 1980 to 1984, conceded to Ross about 11:30 p.m., calling Ross by phone.

“The numbers aren’t there,” Richardson told the Bangor Daily News, pointing out that with close votes in the mill towns – long considered Democratic strongholds – he needed to win Bangor in order to catch up to Ross. But following a trend throughout the county, Ross won big in Bangor taking 5,882 or 66 percent of the votes, compared to Richardson’s 2,941 votes, with all but one precinct reporting.

“I didn’t hold my own in Bangor,” Richardson said.

Richardson was gracious in his concession, saying that he wished Ross the best of luck with a job that has awesome responsibilities.

Ross, reached at Republican headquarters at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer, said that he was “tremendously pleased the public has seen to endorse me for the next four years and done it with such resounding numbers.”

Ross said his bid for sheriff could have been a career-ending one, admitting that had he lost, likely he would not have been named chief deputy, a post he held for eight years under the late Sheriff Ed Reynolds. Ross was appointed sheriff by Gov. Angus King after the death of Reynolds this summer.

In Glenburn an hour before the polls closed, sentiments seemed to favor Ross. Voters said that as chief deputy under Reynolds and then as appointed sheriff, Ross was already aware of what is going on in the department and what is needed.

“I think it’s time to give Glenn a chance to see what he can do, on his own,” said David McCullough, a longtime resident of Glenburn, where Ross carried nearly 77 percent of the vote, defeating Richardson 1,150 to 349.

Ross, once a Democrat, defeated Richardson in the 1984 Democratic primaries but lost to Reynolds in the general election for sheriff.