Jake Gazzo will join the Pike County Board of Supervisors in January.
In Tuesday’s Republican runoff election against Marlin Bass for the District 4 seat being vacated by Luke Brewer, Gazzo won 974-781 over Marlin Bass, a 55-44 margin.
Brewer did not seek re-election.
“Man, it’s unreal,” Gazzo said Tuesday after all voting boxes were tallied. “I can’t believe it. It’s humbling that the people of District 4 believed in me, and I’m very thankful.
“It’s been a great experience. We have campaigned door to door, and everybody has been so gracious to me and my family. I can’t thank them enough.”
Gazzo said he would serve the people of District 4 and Pike County at large with professionalism, and said he is looking forward to beginning his service on the board.
He also thanked his opponent for a clean race.
“Marlin Bass ran a great campaign,” Gazzo said. “He was nothing but kind, He is first class, a great man and well-respected.”
Without a Democratic candidate seeking the District 4 seat, Gazzo will take the seat in the next term and be one of four new supervisors. Only Tazwell Bowsky will return.
In District 3, runoffs for both the Republicans and the Democrats set the nominees for the November ballot.
On the Republican side, Robert Accardo won the nomination over Rusty McCulley 661-585, a 53-47 margin.
“I am very humbled and thankful to everybody who came out and supported me today and everybody who has supported me through this campaign and urged me to run,” Accardo said Tuesday after he vote count.
“I look forward to November, and I hope we have a clean race like we did in the primary ... Ii think the people were able to make their decision based on the platforms and the issues that concerned them.”
Accardo said he would take a few days to decompress and evaluate his campaign’s next steps before beginning his campaign push to November.
“I’m very happy with today and where we are,” he said.
For the Democrats, Etta Batteaste Taplin rolled up a big victory over Pat Martin, 379-158, garnering about 70 percent of the vote and carrying every box in the district.
Taplin did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
The District 3 winner in November will replace Chuck Lambert, who also did not seek re-election.
The District 5 matchup for November was settled on Aug. 6, when Eddie Simmons emerged from a field of five to win the Democratic nomination without a runoff. He will face Lee Fortenberry, who was the only Republican candidate for the seat.
Tazwell Bowsky won re-election to the District 1 seat on Aug. 6 by a narrow margin, getting just more than 50 percent of the vote in a four-way race, and Faye Hodges was ousted from the District 2 seat after two terms by Sam Hall.
