The numbers are in and it’s official. The closest campaign in the Primary Election, the race for Charles County Commissioner District I between former county commissioner Sam Graves and incumbent Ken Robinson literally went down to the wire, and with the counting of absentee ballots Thursday, June 26, it becomes more apparent that Robinson won the election during the early voting portion of the campaign.

Graves actually tallied more votes on Primary Election day and in the absentee/provisional voting, but it was the early voting that boosted Robinson’s reelection.

When all was said and done, the incumbent won the race by 41 votes, with four-tenths of a percentage separating the two candidates.

“I tried to get the message out for people to vote,” Graves said. “We put up signs everywhere that said ‘Vote June 24.’ I was a little disappointed in the turnout. I did everything I could to get the message out there.”

A very low segment of the population turned out to vote in the Charles County Primary Election. The Board of Elections web site places the figure at 21.8 percent. Of 99,857 registered voters, only 21,401 cast their vote June 24.

“The race was a lot closer than I would have liked it to have been,” Robinson said after the absentee votes came in favoring Graves 120-101. “But that was to be expected. My opponent is very well known here in the county, he ran a very good campaign. Still, I’m obviously grateful to have the support we received and am honored to serve another four years as Charles County commissioner.”

Robinson added that he was looking forward to working with the new board.

“I’m expecting that as commissioner president, Peter Murphy will have a very calming influence,”he said.

Robinson said he was very excited to work with the board’s newest member, Amanda Stewart, who won in her first campaign for county office.

“I’ve known her for about two and a half years,” he stated. “When I was holding Coffee with the Commissioners at Starbucks, her husband was the manager there, so I actually met her husband first. When she approached me with the idea of running for office, I told her, ‘well, it’s harder than it seems,’ especially as a newcomer. I told her to announce early and she worked very hard and did a great job.”

Robinson’s early advantage served him well as he reeled in 1,523 votes to 1,270 for Graves. On Election Day, Graves garnered 5,725, edging his opponent’s 5,557. Absentee ballots drew Graves closer toward the end, but the incumbent won out 7,181 to 7,120.

With two new members to work with, Robinson said he hopes better days are ahead.

“I hope the 3-2 divide is in our rear view mirror and that we can find a way to build consensus,” Robinson said. “I’m not saying that I expect every vote to be easy. That would be unrealistic. You need debate and discourse to get the bottom of every issue. The way to do that is under the leadership of Peter Murphy. I