Dec 31, 2017 1 min read

In the more than two decades Gregory Rohanna has served as Greene County coroner, he never faced a general election opponent. That changed in 2017 when retired funeral home director Gene Rush challenged Rohanna and eked out a razor-thin victory, showing that every vote does, indeed, count.

The election showcased a seesaw battle as Rush initially took an eight-vote lead on election night, only to see Rohanna hold a one-vote lead the following day after absentee and provisional ballots were tallied. A final canvass by the elections office staff, however, showed that Rush had won by four votes out of nearly 7,000 votes cast in the county.

Rohanna declined to challenge the results, making Rush the first new coroner since Frank Behm resigned in September 1996.