Kilgore City Council Place 3 incumbent Daniel Gantt secured a second term Saturday night with just shy of 51 percent of the vote according to unofficial tallies.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. May 2 after 12 hours of election day voting saw 126 residents in Gregg and Rusk Counties turn out alongside 226 early voters at Kilgore City Hall for the Place 3 race. There were 47 absentee ballots in the mix as well.
Ultimately, seven votes separated the contenders. Gantt collected 203 total decisions (121 in early voting, 59 on Election Day and 23 absentee) to challenger Chip Hale’s 196 ballots, including 105 between April 20-28, 67 on May 2 and 24 absentee.
There are no provisional votes. The second term for Gantt will begin later this month after council members canvass the returns.
Mayor Pro Tem Victor Boyd (Place 4) and councilman Randy Renshaw (Place 2) were unopposed in their re-election bids this cycle. According to the unofficial results, 352 voters checked the box in support of Boyd’s unchallenged bid and 359 supported Renshaw.
No other measures were on local ballots this election season. Combined, there were 405 total votes, a 7.51 percent turnout from 5,396 registered voters.
