A North Carolina sheriff who resigned in late October following revelations he made racist remarks about Black employees will get his job back after voters re-elected him on Tuesday.

Jody Greene stepped down as sheriff of Columbus county on 24 October, after the local district attorney filed a petition to remove him over “highly inappropriate and racially charged statements” made about Black employees in 2019.

But Greene moved forward with his re-election campaign. After polls closed, he had more than 10,000 votes while his opponent, Jason Soles, had fewer than 8,500, according to unofficial results.

Greene is therefore gearing up to retake an office he first won in November 2018 despite a scandal other candidates may not have survived and which provided one of the more bizarre stories to come out of elections held across the US this week.

The controversy erupted in earnest when the district attorney, Jon David, filed court documents in October revealing that his office had obtained an audio recording from the state investigations bureau of a phone call involving Greene. The audio had leaked online in late September.

Published by the local NBC news affiliate, WECT, those documents said that Greene was suspended at the time of the call amid an investigation into whether he lived in his jurisdiction as required.

The sheriff was convinced he was in trouble because of “a leak in his office” and thought Black employees were plotting to undermine him.

“I’m sick of these Black bastards – I’m gonna clean house and be done with it,” Greene said, according to a call transcript cited in the documents from David’s office. “They’re gone. I’m telling you.”

Greene called those he suspected of getting him in trouble “stupid” and expressed a willingness to “fire every motherfucker out there” if necessary.

Davis’s office said in court records at least one Black employee had been fired after Greene’s remarks were recorded. On 4 October, the district attorney filed a petition seeking to remove Greene from office. An amendment attached to that petition on 20 October said Greene had engaged in sex with a detective under his command, along with other instances of alleged corruption and misconduct.

That amendment noted that Soles, the other candidate in Tuesday’s race and a captain on Greene’s staff in 2019, recorded the racist rant. He began recording the call after Greene mentioned hating “a Black Democrat”, the amendment said.

Soles said in a statement under oath that he did not edit the recording. Greene resigned, apologizing for the remarks and his actions and describing “a humbling experience”.

“I am sincerely sorry for the disrespectful and insensitive words that have offended my friends, colleagues and fellow citizens,” Greene said. “I ask for forgiveness.”

Nonetheless, Greene maintained that the allegations were false, “politically motivated” and aimed at inciting “racial division”. He asked voters to re-elect him and promised to make the county – with a population of about 50,000 – “better and safer” through his office.

Civic groups excoriated Greene. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association said he resigned from the organization over the remarks, which “shock the conscience”. The state chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP released a joint statement saying Columbus county deserved better, CBS News reported.

After securing another term, Greene posted on Facebook that the campaign was “extremely stressful” but thanked voters for putting him back in office.

“I am the sheriff for everyone no matter race, color, religion, sex orientation or national origin,” he said.