MANATEE -- R.B. "Chips" Shore is once again Manatee County's clerk of circuit court and comptroller.

Shore nabbed 97.2 percent of the vote to easily defeat Annamarie D. Riethmiller, a write-in candidate.

The 71-year-old Shore took office in 1977 and is the office's longest-standing clerk since the position was created in 1856.

"I didn't know much I would love it, and I didn't know how exciting it can be," Shore said Tuesday night. "I'm humbled to be able to do it.

"It's been a great journey."

Shore said he enjoys the post more now than he did when he was first elected.

"I've found we can do a lot of things on the state level and the national level," he said. "Like I said, it's been a remarkable journey."

Shore helps preserve Manatee County's past through the office's Historical Resources Department, and he earned the 2008 National Award of Merit from the American Association of State and Local History for his contributions to historic preservation and heritage education in the county.

Through his duties as a comptroller, Shore is the auditor and custodian of Manatee County's funds.