Champaign County Commissioner David E. Faulkner is one step closer to re-election after winning the Republican nomination for the county commission seat over challenger Doug Hoffman in Tuesday’s primary election.

According to unofficial results from the Champaign County Board of Elections, Faulkner received 3,849 votes (52.4 percent) to Hoffman’s 3,491 votes (47.6 percent).

“It was a very close race, and I wasn’t expecting that many people to come out and vote,” Faulkner said. “I was expecting around 5,000 voters, but Mr. Hoffman brought out a lot of voters, and he got a lot of votes. He ran a good, clean race, and I take my hat off to him.”

With only 358 votes separating the two candidates, Faulkner said, had it not been for his supporters, the race could have easily gone in Hoffman’s favor.

“I want to thank each and every one of my supporters for their vote, kind words, and for helping to spread the word about my campaign,” he said.

While Faulkner said he was under the impression he would be running unopposed in the general election, the local board of elections announced Tuesday that Barnaby Ofori had filed as an Independent prior to Monday’s deadline and will vie with Faulkner for the county commission seat in November pending validation of his petition.

“If that is in fact the case, I will do what I need to do from now until then to be re-elected,” Faulkner said. “As of now, I’m looking forward to finishing out my current term with the hopes of serving a second term, because I feel like I got my feet under me now.”