Zinke led Olszewski by 1,181 votes, or 1.5 percentage points, out of 80,194 votes counted, as of 3:30 p.m. local time Wednesday. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, was considered the favorite in the race and had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. By law, ballots have to either all be counted by machine or all counted by hand, spokesperson Richie Melby said. “We remain confident and believe the Secretary’s lead will continue to grow as more votes are counted,” Zinke campaign spokesperson Heather Swift said Wednesday afternoon. The winner of the race between Zinke and Olszewski will face Democrat Monica Tranel, an attorney, in November.

Source: ABC News June 09, 2022 01:22 UTC