By WAYNE ALLEN

PDT Staff Writer

The Republican nomination for 14th District State Senate seat is still too close to call. The unofficial results show that Joe Uecher led Paul Hall by a vote of 17,798-17,667.

The provisional ballots that are left to be counted may be the deciding factor to see who wins the race.

As it stands now there are 131 votes separating the two. According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office the next step is to count the absentee and provisional ballots within the district.

If the vote doesn’t change beyond the one-half of one percent mandate following all ballots being counted, there will be an automatic recount.

The district is currently held by Senate President Tom Niehaus, who is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.

“The race was as tight as I expected it to be,” Niehaus said. “The first thing that will have to be done is to count the provisional ballots, that will likely take a week to 10 days to accomplish. Then, depending on the tally it’s likely going to be close enough to trigger a recount.”

He said the recount would not likely change the vote totals. “The critical count is going to be of the provisional ballots,” Niehaus said.

Niehaus said he endorsed Hall, and his wife, Emily, endorsed Uecher.

“My had committed to Joe very early on in the process, even before Paul Hall got in the race,” Niehaus said. “Paul Hall has been a friend of mine for more than 20 years. He ran my Senate and House campaigns in Brown County.

Either one of these gentlemen are qualified to serve in the Senate. The voters could not have gone wrong with either choice.”

Whichever candidate wins the Republican nomination will essentially win the seat, because there were no Democrats running.

The 14th Senate District of Ohio includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Scioto counties and a portion of Lawrence County.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 208, or wallen@heartlandpublications.com.