By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jean Schmidt and Tom Niehaus spent months locked in a bruising campaign for the Republican nomination for the 14th District Ohio Senate seat.

But although more than 33,000 people cast votes in the race in Tuesday's primary election, Schmidt and Niehaus will have to wait at least another month to find out who is the official winner.

Unofficially, Schmidt beat Niehaus, 16,911 to 16,849.

The winner of this race is expected to breeze through the November general election. The Democratic opponent, Paul Schwietering, has never held public office.

But it will be sometime in April before a recount will be held to determine whether Schmidt or Niehaus will be the Republican candidate.

Schmidt and Niehaus, both currently state representatives, expressed confidence that they will edge out the other in the recount.

"A recount doesn't affect the outcome 99.9 percent of the time," Schmidt said.

"I feel very good about the recount," Niehaus said. "The race isn't over, that's for sure."

The 14th District includes Clermont, Brown, Adams and Scioto counties and part of Lawrence County.

The results of Tuesday's Schmidt-Niehaus election likely won't be certified until the last week of March, said Kathy Jones, deputy director of the Clermont County Board of Elections.

If the margin of victory is less than a half-percent of the vote total - which computes to 168 votes - state law requires a recount.

Even if the victory is more than a half-percent, one of the candidates could request a recount. The recount would be held in April.

"This race just further illustrates the point that every vote can be the one that influences the outcome of the election," said James Lee, Ohio Secretary of State spokesman.

If the recount ends in a tie, he said, Schmidt and Niehaus would flip a coin or draw lots to determine a winner.

E-mail skemme@enquirer.com