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Democratic incumbent Addie Russell has secured a razor thin victory over Republican John Byrne in the race for the 116th Assembly District. After trailing her opponent by more than 100 votes on Election Day, Elizabeth Jeneault explains how Russell was able to squeeze out the win.
"I knew it was going to be a close race when we came down to the absentees and they weren't turning exactly as how we thought they were going to turn," said Byrne.
The opening of those ballots reversed the tide to give Russell about a 100 vote lead. Byrne's last hope was that the opening of about 300 challenged ballots from both counties Monday would change things yet again. When it became clear that wouldn't happen, he said he was just thankful that the majority of those ballots were opened.
"We knew we had to go through the process, we felt we did it in an honorable fashion and we're just very happy that everyone agreed to have those ballots opened," said Byrne.
Critics have argued that the race wouldn't have been as close had Russell campaigned more. She said she believed other factors were to blame.
"Low voter turnout usually tends to help Republicans and I think that was a trend we saw nationally and really has as much to do with how this race turned out than any other single factor," said Russell.
With the race now behind her, Russell said she's focused on her next term.
"Our schools and our small governments have been under tremendous strain so as we work through the next budget cycle, continuing to advocate for our local governments and for our school districts will remain a top priority of mine," said Russell.
A term she can look forward to, after unofficially winning the overall race by about a mere 100 votes.
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Democrat Addie Russell Wins 116th Assembly District Race