By By Adam Prestridge
Brandon Smith will be the new face on the Escambia County Commission after upending Republican opponent Kevin McKinley 1,888 to 1,137 in Tuesday’s General Election.
Smith, the Democratic candidate, will represent District 4, which is comprised of most of Atmore.
Smith said there will be a learning curve once he enters office, but is excited to get to work.
Despite losing the election, McKinley offered Smith assistance as he prepares to begin his political career.
"I'll be happy to do anything I can to help Brandon out,” McKinley said. “I think the community needs to unite around him and help him out with everything we can.
It is going to take a lot to fix the problems facing our community, and I wish him the best."
Smith also acknowledged McKinley’s efforts during the long campaign.
McKinley added that he thought both campaigns ran cleanly.
"Overall I think it was a clean campaign on both sides,” McKinley said. “I think we both executed our messages nicely without things getting dirty."
Voting by precinct
In the presidential race, Sen. John McCain captured 63.92 percent of the vote with 9,365 ballots cast in his favor in Escambia County, while Sen. Barack Obama had 5,176 votes for 35.33 percent.
As of 10 p.m., CNN.com projected Obama as the next president after analyst predicted him as having 297 electoral votes to McCain’s 139. Official results were not available as of press time.
According to Probate Judge Emilie Mims, 14,705 ballots were cast in Escambia County, which does not include provisional ballots. She said with large voter turnouts and long waits, Tuesday went “well.”
“We are extremely pleased considering the tremendous voter turnout,” she said.
Mims added that the key word for the day was “patience.”
(News editor MaryClaire Foster and sports editor Chandler Myers contributed to this article.)