North Carolina sheriff in damage control mode after racist Facebook remark goes viral on Election Day

Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews appeared to agree with a voter warning of an ethnic "takeover" of the region in a since-deleted post that went viral.

The Durham Herald-Sun reported Tuesday that Andrews deleted the post on his re-election campaign Facebook page in which an apparent supporter encouraged the sheriff's constituents to go out and vote so that they wouldn't be overtaken by "immigrants and minorities."

"Durham County you better not apathetically sit home on your tails tomorrow," the post made by user Bobby Cheatham read, "as city block [sic] voters immigrants and minorities will flock to the polls. Then the city special interests will vote out the old … and man … you won’t’ like the ethic [sic] take over new!"

In response to Cheatham's comment, Andrews' official re-election page wrote "Amen Bobby!"

After taking down the post, Andrews told the Herald-Sun that he was not the person who made the comment and that the moderator of the page who did so has since been removed from the account.

"I do not agree with it in any form or fashion," the sheriff said.

Andrews, a Democrat, is facing Clarence Birkhead in the party's primary today. There are no GOP candidates running for sheriff of the county, meaning whoever wins the primary will likely become the next sheriff in the November general election.