Preliminary results in the election for District 1 of the Montezuma County Commission show it is a close race between Republican Jim Candelaria and Democrat MB McAfee with about 1,376 ballots to count.
As of midnight Tuesday, 11,851 ballots had been received, and 10,475 had been processed, according to Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder Kim Percell.
Results were not expected until Wednesday morning, Percell said.
The latest preliminary results show that Candelaria has a lead with 4,210 votes, with McAfee trailing at 3,861 votes. Unaffiliated Steve Chappell has 1,661 votes, and unaffiliated Jesse James Sattley has 589 votes.
“It could be a while” before unofficial results were in, Percell said about 9:30 p.m.
Many of the remaining ballots to count are from Dolores and Mancos, which were brought in last, officials said. Ballots are being processed at a rate of 200 to 300 per hour, Percell said
In other preliminary results, Question 7A on extending term limits for 22nd District Attorney from two terms to three terms was losing, with 6,049 against extending the term limits, and 3,453 for extending the term limits.
Also, preliminary results for Ballot Question 6A for increasing the mill levy for the Lewis-Arriola Fire Protection District show that 754 are for it and 572 are against it.
Candelaria is waiting results at the clerk’s office with his supporters, but said it is too soon to comment on the preliminary results.
Regarding the campaign, Candelaria said it was a “good and challenging experience. We anticipated a close race, and we got one.”
