Nov 7, 2017 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – The suspense over who will win the Greene County coroner’s race will linger for another day.

Just eight votes separate Republican challenger Gene Rush and Democratic incumbent Gregory Rohanna as the two must now wait for 228 absentee ballots to be counted Wednesday morning to determine the winner.

With the county’s 44 precincts reporting, Rush holds a miniscule 3,248-to-3,240 vote lead over Rohanna, 59, of Jefferson, who has served as coroner since 1996. Rush, 69, of Rogersville, trailed for the entire night before his hometown precinct in Center Township was the last to report shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, giving him a rush of votes to take the small lead.

Neither candidate could be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Greene County Elections Director Tina Kiger said her staff will begin opening the absentee ballots at 11 a.m. in the county office building. She said it’s “one of the closest races” she’s seen in her nearly two decades as elections director. There were also eight write-in votes in the coroner’s race, but no military ballots.

Kiger said it was too early to determine if there would need to be a recount in the race.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Brian Tennant easily turned back his Republican challenger Ed DeBolt with a 69-to-31 percent victory to win his second term in office.

“I appreciate their faith and trust they’ve placed in me to hold the office of sheriff,” Tennant said. “I’ll continue to serve with diligence.”

Tennant, 34, of Franklin Township, touted his work to implement the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., program in the county’s school district in an attempt to to combat drug abuse through prevention. He also pointed to his monthly activity reports showing the public the work his deputies were doing.

However, his most important work has been to expand the power of the sheriff’s office, most notably implementing traffic stops. He also is supporting state legislation to give the office more investigative abilities, a topic that will be especially important in his next term, he said.

“I want to try to continue and push and lobby for legislation for investigative powers for sheriffs in Pennsylvania. It’s a critical element, especially for more rural areas like Greene County to have that additional law enforcement presence,” Tennant said. “Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we don’t have a voice.”

In other races, David Balint, who won both the Democratic and Republican primaries in May for the district judge’s seat for Waynesburg and western Greene County, formally secured the six-year term in the position. He will take office in January to succeed Louis Dayich, who left the position to become Greene County judge two years ago.

Incumbent District Judge Glenn Bates also ran unopposed and won re-election.