Campaigns to be continued
WAYNESBURG – The race for Greene County judge will be decided in November.
Louis Dayich cruised to the Democratic nomination while Jeffry Grimes easily secured the nomination on the Republican ticket during Tuesday night’s primary election.
Dayich, 53, a magisterial district judge from Waynesburg, and Grimes, 42, an attorney from Center Township, will now face off in the general election for Greene County Court of Common Pleas judge. The position became vacant when William Nalitz retired from his position in December.
The other candidate who cross-filed in the race, David Russo, 38, of Holbrook, finished third for both nominations.
“I’m just very proud to receive the nomination from the Democratic party. I think a big part of that has to do with my family and friends and all the support we’ve had,” Dayich said adding that a number of union endorsements helped him during the campaign. “I feel like I’ve had a lot of support.”
Grimes, who was celebrating his victory Tuesday night at the Airport Restaurant in Franklin Township, said he was encouraged by the results.
“Obviously, we’re thrilled to get the Republican nomination,” Grimes said. “Overall, (the total results) are right there with the independents coming in the general election, we think we can make that gap up.”
Dayich received 2,715 votes on the Democratic ballot to Grimes’ 2,013. However, Grimes won 1,304 votes on the Republican side compared to the 751 that Dayich received.
Those overall numbers put Dayich just 149 votes ahead of Grimes in the cumulative results, meaning the general election could be a razor tight battle between the two candidates.
Dayich said he’s looking forward to moving on to the general election.
“The race is going to continue and I’m happy to continue,” Dayich said. “I’m always in awe of the democratic process and proud to be a part of this country and how we choose our leaders. I’m looking forward to continuing to earn their support for the general election.”
The election started off with a slight hiccup at one precinct Tuesday morning.
Greene County Elections Director Tina Kiger said the elections office was notified of a minor voting machine problem shortly after the polls opened at 7 a.m. A voter at the Franklin East precinct told poll workers his choice for Grimes was incorrectly awarded to Dayich as he prepared to finalize his ballot. The voting machine was temporarily pulled out of commission while it was recalibrated, Kiger said, and the voter was allowed to recast his ballot on a different machine.
Kiger said they did not have any other major issues and described turnout as “steady” throughout the day. The 225 absentee ballots won’t be added to the results until Wednesday morning, she said.