BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz defeated Lynne Dixon and earned a third term as the county's top elected official.
Poloncarz, a democrat, defeated Dixon, a registered member of the Independence Party who ran on the republican line, by more than 14,000 votes in a race that saw more than 205,000 voters turn out. Poloncarz unofficially won by seven points, though that could change slightly once absentee ballots and emergency ballots are counted in the coming weeks.
WATCH: Poloncarz gives victory speech after winning third term as Erie County Executive
"The people of Erie County have spoken on the direction they want their community to go," Poloncarz said during his victory speech at the democrats party at Statler City. "Thank you to all who believed in our message of moving Erie County forward. Because of your belief in our work and the direction we're taking this county, we've been sent back to complete the job we've started."
Poloncarz victory was much slimmer than his win four years ago over republican Ray Walter, where he won by 30 points. It was even a smaller victory for Poloncarz compared to his first win over Chris Collins in 2011 where he won by 15 points.
"We felt pretty good going in," Poloncarz told WBEN's Mike Baggerman. "We had some polling internally that showed me with a good lead and then some of the really nasty ads and nasty mail pieces hit. But I felt pretty good going in. We worked hard to get the vote out in our democratic areas."
More than 34 percent of registered voters in Erie County turned out to vote. This fell shy of the projected 40 percent that democrats hoped for locally. Poloncarz said there was a low turnout in general but good for an off-year election.
Dixon conceded to Poloncarz while the county executive gave his victory speech. At the time of our interview with Poloncarz, he did not personally speak with Lynne though he said he texted her after leaving the stage.
Democrats in Erie County also held onto the legislature and maintained a 7-to-4 advantage. Poloncarz said during his victory speech that he will now focus on his ErieNET initiative, Live Well Erie, and contributing to the growth of the local economy.