Morton Mayor Dan Mortensen is trailing challenger Ricky M. Mead after initial general election results were announced by the Lewis County Auditor’s Office on Tuesday night.
Mead led with 134 votes to Mortensen’s 107.
Mortensen was first elected mayor in 2016. He retired as chief of police for the City of Morton.
Elsewhere on the Morton City Council, Jason Sawyer defeated Dennis Morningstar 173 votes to 66 votes as of Tuesday’s county. Bob Boyer and Wendy McCully won seats on the council in uncontested races.
The preliminary count included the results of 13,338 ballots. The Lewis County Auditor’s Office estimated there were still 701 ballots left to count on election night, with an estimated total voter turnout of 24.15%.
The next ballot count will be released at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Election certification will take place on Nov. 28.