Richmond Sheriff Antionette V. Irving won a close primary race Tuesday, defeating challenger William J. Burnett in his attempt to take over the job of managing the city jail and supervising hundreds of deputies and staff who work in the jail, provide security in city courts, serve subpoenas and other documents and handle evictions.

The position has an annual salary of about $150,000.

Unofficial results posted by the state Department of Elections showed Sheriff Irving winning 54.5 percent of the votes, or 11,044, to Mr. Burnett’s 45.4 percent, or 9,186 votes.

In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, Sheriff Irving wrote of her appreciation, saying, “Thank you to the voters and residents of the City of Richmond for your vote and support. Today, I stand before you as the Democratic presumptive candidate as we await the final official results of yesterday’s primary.

“Yesterday was a good day and this has been a new type of journey for many; but, we have proven that we are up to the challenge.” She added, “Congratulations to you all for this step. Together, we can continue to make this city we love so much all that we want it to be.”

The primary race was contentious, with the 56-year-old sheriff defending her management style against Mr. Burnett’s claims that her lack of leadership was contributing to deputies leaving the department, with the resulting short-staffing creating unsafe conditions and low morale in the jail.

Sheriff Irving responded that her department faces the same issues as many other departments, with vacancies due to retirements, the pandemic and higher pay available in neighboring jurisdictions.

Sheriff Irving, who rose through the ranks to major during her 26 years with the Henrico County Sheriff’s Department, has been in the Richmond post since 2018. She upset former city Sheriff C.T. Woody in a 2017 Democratic primary, and won election that November.

Mr. Burnett, 53, is a former police officer who later moved to the Richmond Sheriff’s Of- fice and ran the day-to-day operations of the jail under Sheriff Woody.

Sheriff Irving is not expected to face opposition in the November general election. So far, no Republican or independent candidates have filed to run in the fall.