Jere McElhaney was sweating it early Tuesday night.

The Republican incumbent, McElhaney, 46, was down by more than 1,000 votes against his opponent, Independent Marguerite Ermeling, 53.

But by 10:30 p.m., the tides began to turn and McElhaney emerged as the leader. He won the race by 1,104 votes, with a total of 9,012 votes, or 53 percent. Ermeling, a local veterinarian, received 7,908 votes, or 47 percent of the votes.

“I knew all along that it was going to be close,” said McElhaney, who owns McElhaney Fence Builders. “For a long time, I thought we weren’t going to win this thing.”

He attributed his victory to volunteers, friends and family.

McElhaney ran his race based on the record of the Douglas County Commission. He said the present commissioners were a team and worked well together.

While she was dealt a loss, Ermeling said her campaign was worthwhile. Ermeling received more than 1,000 signatures to run as an independent on the ballot.

“We made a big point,” she said. “The issue — it’s not going to go away. The commission is not going to be able to avoid or dismiss the constituency.”

Here’s how things broke down in other county races:

6News video: Ermeling hopeful in 3rd District Commissioner race Douglas County Commission 3rd District Marguerite Ermeling 7,969 47 % Jere McElhaney 9,083 53 % 67 of 67 precincts reporting 6News video: Paula Gilchrist presumed Douglas County Treasurer Douglas County treasurer ¢ Paula Gilchrist 24,973 57 % Cindy Monshizadeh 18,971 53 % 67 of 67 precincts reporting 6News video: Penrod optimistic about Douglas County Clerk position Douglas County Clerk Marni Penrod 20,864 48 % ¢ Jamie Shew 22,041 52 % 67 of 67 precincts reporting

• Democrat Jamie Shew won the race for county clerk with 22,867 votes, for 52 percent of votes cast. Republican Marni Penrod received 20,714 votes, or 48 percent of votes.
• Democrat Paula Gilchrist beat Republican Cindy Monshizadeh for county treasurer. Gilchrist received 24,790 votes, or 57 percent. Monshizadeh garnered 18,826 votes, or 43 percent.
• The post of Clinton Township treasurer went to independent Michael Fangman, who got 214 votes. With 59 percent of all votes cast, Fangman beat Republican Franklin Bidinger, who got 146 votes.
• Republican Chester Fitch won his bid for Grant Township trustee with 131 votes, or 62 percent. He beat Democrat Ron Schneider, who got 80 votes, or 38 percent.
• Republican Rex Hagerman beat Democrat Martin Thomas for Palmyra Township trustee. Hagerman received 1,435 votes, 52 percent of votes cast; Thomas garnered 1,291 votes, or 47 percent.
• Wakarusa Township treasurer went to Republican Norman Leary, who received 862 votes, or 71 percent. Democrat C.V. Williams received 359 votes, 29 percent.

Overview Unofficial election results Douglas County precinct map Election Day 2004 feedback Kids Voting ResultsCounty Democrat unseats D.A. of 8 years Former mayor defeats Buhler in Senate race Embattled district judge stays on bench McElhaney survives short-lived deficit Record number of voters cast their ballots in county Douglas County kids choose Kerry Politicians, supporters share ‘crazy’ election-night revelry Voters approve Perry-Lecompton bond issue Township lacks candidatesState Moore fends off another challenge Ryun wins contentious 2nd District Congress seat Brownback easily defends his U.S. Senate seat Holland inches past GOP challenge Pine takes 3rd District Senate seat Wagnon wins State Board of Education race Seven incumbents lose; GOP pads majority in House Voters deny sales tax for K.C. arena Bush wins Kansas handily Kansans show they’re satisfied with Bush Counties see high voter turnout Election briefsNational Too close to call President ‘upbeat’ on election returns Kerry sentimental as race nears end Analysis: Emotions guided presidential voting Networks use care in reporting results New media throw caution to the wind Presidential race prompts late selloff State by state results: Midwest State by state results: West State by state results: Northeast State by state results: South California backs stem-cell research Voters in 11 states approve gay-marriage bans GOP wins key states in South World riveted by U.S. electionMultimedia Photo Gallery: Election Day 2004 6News video: Dennis Moore wins in a ‘landslide’ 6News video: Dennis Moore victory speech 6News video: Bob Johnson wins 2nd District County Commission position 6News video: Paula Gilchrist presumed Douglas County Treasurer 6News video: Ken McGovern wins sheriff’s office 6News video: Jere McElhaney on the 3rd District Commissioner seat 6News video: Penrod optimistic about Douglas County Clerk position 6News video: Ermeling hopeful in 3rd District Commissioner race 6News video: Francisco likely to win 2nd District Barbara Ballard talks about younger voters and their importance in this election. Barbara Ballard talks about being in Lawrence and Kansas on election night. Paul Davis talks about the importance of this election to the Kansas Democrats. Paul Davis chooses his most important race in Kansas. Paul Davis talks about the feeling among other Democrats in Kansas. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius addresses the crowd at Abe ‘N Jakes Landing.