After a tense day of recounting in a very close race, Commission District 2 Democratic Primary in Manatee County has been decided.

Challenger Charles B. Smith edged out the incumbent Michael Gallen by four votes.

It was a painstaking process made more challenging because the county had an absentee ballot that was missing, but officials say either way that ballot would not have changed the outcome.

Gallen says he plans to come back tomorrow to go over the totals for each polling place. Smith says he's happy with the outcome and now plans to focus on his campaign against a write-in candidate in the general election.

Both Gallen and Smith received 35 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. By the end of the night Tuesday, Smith had an unofficial five-vote lead over Gallon.

Election workers searched through nearly 44,000 ballots to find the missing absentee ballot on Thursday.

District 2 is considered the urban core of the county, encompassing predominantly minority neighborhoods in East Palmetto, East Bradenton, Palm View and Ellenton.