Down to the wire

Belew edges Aaberg to face Stainton in runoff

Published Thursday, March 6, 2008

By Brian Knox

Although it was obvious from the beginning of the night that a runoff would be coming in the Republican primary county attorney's race, it wasn't until the last box was counted that the two participants would be known.

In the end, James Stainton came away with the highest vote total with 2,026 votes, or 40.3 percent. The battle for the second spot in the runoff was won by Marilyn Belew who edged out Thomas Aaberg by a mere 33 votes. Belew received 1,518 votes (30.2 percent) compared to 1,485 votes (29.5 percent) for Aaberg.

Aaberg actually led after early vote totals were posted, although the margin between the three candidates was slim. Stainton had a strong showing on election day, gathering 42.5 percent of the vote.

Stainton said he was pleased with receiving 40 percent of the vote in a hard-fought three-person race.

"I felt like I had a strong plan," Stainton said. "My crews were out at all the polls today. I'm proud of my people."

He said that despite the close race, it never got ugly.

"What I'm most proud of is in a highly competitive race among three lawyers, it was clean and professional across the board," he said.

Belew led Aaberg by only six votes with two precincts left to report. After the final numbers were posted, she was able to think about continuing her campaign.

"I'm grateful that I will have a chance to participate in the runoff. It was a very close race with Mr. Aaberg," she said.

Belew said she will try to get out and talk to even more people before the April 8 runoff to answer any questions.

Aaberg, who watched the election returns with his supporters at the Decatur Lion's Club building, said the campaign was a great experience despite the tough loss.

"I felt like I put my best foot forward. The people spoke. It was a lot tougher than what I thought it would be," he said.

When asked if he would request a recount, Aaberg said he planned to look at the numbers Wednesday and decide.

"It's hard to put that much work into it and not take a look at it (a recount)," Aaberg said.