In another close race between U.S. Representative Troy Balderson and Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor, it is the republican from Zanesville who will be staying in Washington D.C. to represent Ohio’s 12th District.

The congressman was seen picking up yard signs along Dresden Road Wednesday morning following his victory and took a minute to thank the people who elected him.

“Thank you very much,” said Balderson. “I appreciated all the support. It’s an honor.”

With nearly all precincts reporting Tuesday night, O’Connor released a concession statement congratulating Balderson on the win and thanking his supporters.

“I want to congratulate Troy Balderson and thank my grassroots supporters for building this incredible movement for new leadership with me,” said O’Connor in a statement. “We went door to door, house to house, and made our case for change.”

As of Wednesday, with all precincts accounted for,  Troy Balderson holds 51.56 percent of votes to O’Connor’s 47.09 percent, or 171,757 votes to 156,863.

Joe Manchik of the Green party took 1.35 percent of the votes at 4,510.

Balderson has only been in office for two months after being sworn in early September following a special election win in August.

Voters in Muskingum County largely supported their hometown candidate once again.

Balderson won Muskingum County 11,836 votes to O’Connor’s 6,872.

Numbers in this story are subject to change pending final absentee ballot counts.