POTTSVILLE -- A row office race in Schuylkill County gained some attention after a bit of controversy.
Despite that, the Republican incumbent of register of wills held on to her seat, narrowly winning the primary Tuesday.
With cheers and tears the victory party for Theresa Santai-Gaffney was filled with relief.
Kerry Ansbach, a longtime employee with the Pottsville Area School District tried to oust Gaffney, but failed to do so.
This race came with a bit of controversy when Ansbach accused Gaffney of violating election rules by handing out a pamphlet from her office at a campaign event. Gaffney maintained she did nothing wrong.
Despite that, both candidates said they are proud of the campaigns they ran.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m grateful, thank God. I ran a good clean campaign and I rose above, and truly because of family friends and faith I’ve succeeded,” said Gaffney.
“I’m a little disappointed, but we did a nice run because we were up against an incumbent, and the margin was so small and I got in late. I’ve only been running for 10 weeks, so I think I did pretty decent,” Ansbach said.
Ansbach says he will continue working for the Pottsville Area School District.
Gaffney moves on to the general election to defend her seat against the Democratic challenger.