ERIE, Pa. - In one of the closest races in recent Erie County history, Kathy Dahlkemper has won re-election as Erie County Executive.

Dahlkemper won by 307 votes over Republican candidate Art Oligeri. She finished with 50.15 percent compared to Oligeri's 49.64 percent. There were 128 write-in votes countywide.

During her campaign, Dahlkemper said, the county's Next Generation Radio project for first responders, is among her top accomplishments.
She also said her background in health care, would help her tackle Erie County's growing opioid epidemic.

Dahlkemper's goals include making Erie County more economically friendly and making the proposed community college a reality.

But Dahlkemper recognized that convincing voters within the conservative-leaning portion of Erie County would be a challenge. Dahlkemper initially led by nearly 18 percent, according to early results. That lead diminished to 10 percent, then to less than 1 percent after all 149 precincts were reported.

Erie County Clerk Doug Smith said the county will continue counting absentee ballots into Wednesday. Sources tell Erie News Now as many as 1,700 ballots remain.

A spokesman from the Oligeri campaign said they will wait until "next week" to determine their next steps after absentee votes are counted. They are not ruling out a formal recount.

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