Democratic state Rep. Tim Hodge won a second term in the Kansas House on Tuesday after provisional ballots were counted in Harvey County.
Hodge defeated Republican Steve Kelly in House District 72 after trailing at the end of Election Day by 84 votes.
Hodge edged ahead of Kelly by 17 votes on Friday after Harvey County finished counting advanced-mail ballots that were postmarked by Election Day and came in by the Friday deadline.
Hodge said on Tuesday the final margin of victory was 92 votes, a number that also was confirmed by a Republican source.
“From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank you enough,” Hodge posted on Facebook on Tuesday morning.
“Your support of our message of fighting for working Kansans and eliminating the sales tax on groceries has prevailed,” Hodge wrote. “I want to thank Steve Kelly for a vigorous, hard-fought campaign and wish him all the best in the future. I look forward to continuing to fight for a better Kansas.”
Hodge’s victory means Republicans and the Democrats each lost five seats in the House with a couple other close races that could be affected when provisional ballots are counted.
If everything remains the same, Republicans would still hold 85 seats to the 40 held by Democrats. Conservatives are believed to make up 52 of the 85 Republican-controlled seats.
House District 72 includes Newton, North Newton and Whitewater.
