With vote totals still incomplete late Tuesday, 59th Kansas House District incumbent Joe Humerickhouse, R-Osage City, led challenger Jim Irey, D-Lyndon, by 250 votes in a tight race.

Humerickhouse led by 21 votes in Osage County with election officials still counting advanced ballots there. The incumbent picked up boosts in western Franklin County where he won by 175 votes and in southern Douglas County by 54 votes.

Humerickhouse, an independent fee appraiser, who has served six terms in the Kansas House, said he anticipated a close race.

Irey, a former school superintendent, had criticized Humerickhouse for voting against the school finance plan the state Supreme Court eventually accepted last session.

“I feel like I have been,” supportive of education, Humerickhouse said. “I voted for a plan that I believed would have been more beneficial for districts that we represent.”

Humerickhouse said he expected to hang on to his seat and try to help solve the backlog of maintenance problems at state universities this session.

The challenger was still holding out hope Tuesday night.

“I felt like I ran a good race and fought hard and tried hard. I did my best,” Irey said.