WINTON – If one were looking for the best of both worlds in an election, then Hertford County Board of Commissioners race was the one to watch on Tuesday.

During the Primary election, incumbent DuPont Davis of Ahoskie will apparently return for a fifth, four-year term as he outdistanced two challengers for his District II seat. Meanwhile, challenger John Pierce of Winton clings to a slim lead over incumbent Brenda Greene, also of Winton, in the race for District 3 Commissioner.

Pending the outcome of next week’s mandatory canvass plus adding in the curbside and provisional votes, Davis, with an unofficial total of 1,312 votes, is comfortably ahead of challengers Gene Davis (989) and Willie Watford (762). Davis garnered 43 percent of the vote. He needed only 40 percent (plus one vote) to avoid a run-off.

&uot;Five terms in office may seem like a long time, but there’s so much I feel there’s left to do to make Hertford County a better place to live,&uot; said D. Davis who thanked his many supporters that helped him earn another four-year term.

He continued, &uot;I will continue to work to bring more industry to our county. Our tax rate is another top priority. We need to keep it in check, giving our citizens more money to spend and invest in Hertford County. We also need to keep our citizens informed of what’s going on within their county government. If they are uninformed, then we’ll all have a hard time moving this county forward.&uot;

D. Davis claimed victory in eight of the county’s 13 precincts. Although he didn’t fair as well as expected in his hometown (Ahoskie III was his lone victory among the town’s three precincts), Davis found strength in numbers in Bryantville (beating Watford, 68-29) and was a 2-to-1 winner over G. Davis in Murfreesboro II (111-55). The majority of his winning edge came in the Absentee/One-Stop ballots where he collected 336 votes compared to 167 for Watford and 109 for G. Davis.

For Gene Davis, he was proud of his effort.

&uot;I guess I did okay for a first-time politician,&uot; he said, just moments after extending a congratulatory handshake to DuPont Davis. &uot;I learned a lot about myself and the fine people of Hertford County in this election.&uot;

G. Davis topped the ballots in four precincts – Ahoskie I (193 votes), Ahoskie II (124), Harrellsville (59) and Millennium (60).

On the other side of the election coin, despite his majority number of votes, Pierce can’t rest easy.

Unofficially, Pierce leads the District III (Winton area) race with 1,257 votes. Greene is a close second with 1,088 votes while former Commissioner Marshall Askew was named on 769 ballots.

Now, Pierce must wait until the Hertford County Board of Elections counts the curbside and provisional votes as well as validates the entire election through next week’s official canvass.

Currently, Pierce has the necessary 40 percent (plus one) of the votes to avoid a run-off with Greene, but by a razor close margin. The 1,257 checks by his name translates into 40.27 percent of the overall vote. That’s just a mere 12 votes over 40 percent.

&uot;As far as the total votes are concerned, I’ve got this election on my side, but the 40 percent thing, it’s just so awfully close,&uot; noted Pierce. &uot;As you can plainly see, each and every vote does indeed count.&uot;

For Pierce, he’s been this close before, only to see his dream shattered. Two years ago, Hertford County Commissioner Robert Holloman resigned his seat on the Board after winning the District 5 State Senate seat. Pierce was the choice of the Hertford County Democratic Party to fill the remaining two years on Holloman’s unexpired term, but the Hertford Commissioners went against the Party’s nomination, instead appointing Greene.

&uot;That’s all behind us now,&uot; Pierce concluded. &uot;The people have spoken and they have chosen me to represent District III on the Board of Commissioners. Now we have to wait and see if my 40 percent will hold-up.&uot;

Pierce and Greene each won five of the county’s 13 precincts. He topped the balloting in Ahoskie I (164 votes), Cofield (80), St. Johns (65), Union (47) and Winton (172). Pierce also battled Askew to a 56-56 stalemate at the top of the Harrellsville ballots.

Greene was the winner in Ahoskie III (114 votes), Bryantville (56), Como (26), Murfreesboro I (170) and Murfreesboro II (102).