Swanson represents voters in Clay, Dickinson, Geary and Riley counties. Unofficial totals are 1553 votes\ or 57 percent, for Swanson and 1,236 votes, or 44 percent, for Musselman. Totals remain unofficial until counties canvass their numbers later this week.
Breaking down the numbers by counties, Swanson received 1,553 votes: 1,014 in Clay; 218 in Dickinson; 319 in Geary; and 2 in Riley. Musselman received 1,246 votes: 897 in Clay; 181 in Dickinson; 157 in Geary; and 1 vote in Riley.
From his home Wednesday morning, Swanson thanked Musselman for running a very positive campaign.
“I also thank my constituents for their support and confidence,” he said. “I'm ready to get back to work.”
Musselman, talking to the Reflector-Chronicle from his Clifton home, said he called Swanson Wednesday morning to congratulate him for his victory.
“I was glad to see the voter turnout,” he said. Nearly 2,800 votes were cast in the race. “We feel good that we gave people a choice -- more people need to be encouraged to run for office.”
Both Swanson and Musselman were up late Tuesday night waiting for results from the race. A power outage in Geary County delayed the release of that county's numbers until 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and a problem with a counting machine in Dickinson County delayed the release of their numbers until 2:09 a.m. Wednesday.