By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In a turnaround from earlier tallies, Tom Niehaus appears to be the winner of the Republican primary for the 14th district Ohio Senate seat by just 26 votes.

Canvass results released Friday by the Clermont County Board of Elections show Niehaus leading over the originally projected winner, Jean Schmidt, 17,092 to 17,066 votes. Because of the narrow margin, an automatic recount will take place in the coming weeks.

The winner, once officially declared, will face Democrat Paul Schwietering in the November general election. Schwietering is a Cherry Grove resident who has never held a public office.

"We were optimistic during the whole process," Niehaus said Friday. "We still knew there were a lot of votes out there. It was just a matter of waiting."

The latest outcome includes nearly 400 more votes, including a handful from overseas military personnel, as well as provisional ballots from voters who went to the wrong precinct or voted at boards of elections in their counties, Niehaus said.

Schmidt, who like Niehaus is a state representative, said she was disappointed with Friday's news. But she remains hopeful that a recount could prove her a winner.

"Do I expect things to change? Probably not," she said. "But then again, this has been a very unusual election, and it's almost unheard of that someone who's 62 (votes) ahead falls 26 behind. So I guess anything is possible."

Unofficial results from the March 2 election had shown Schmidt beating Niehaus, 16,911 to 16,849.

The 14th District includes Clermont, Brown, Adams and Scioto counties and part of Lawrence County. Niehaus said that he gained additional votes in each county.

"This further illustrates the fact that every vote is significant and no one should be under the illusion that their vote does not count or is not important," said James Lee, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com