OMAHA- With a lead of just over 1,000 votes over Democratic opponent Greg Gonzales, it is very likely that Aaron Hanson, a Republican, will be elected Douglas County Sheriff. However, votes are still being counted.

Last week, Hanson had 50.8% of the vote compared to Gonzalez's 48.7%, but the race narrowed after provisional ballot tallies came in. Now, Hanson is sitting at 50.45% while Gonzalez has risen to 49.55%.

Despite the small difference, Hanson stated that he felt confident his lead would win him the position of Sheriff. However, Hanson stated, "Out of respect to the process, I'm going to hold off on making a final statement." Similarly, Gonzalez said he wouldn't concede until all of the votes were counted.

"We feel confident that it's a close race and there's every opportunity to still win this race," said Gonzalez. Around 2,000 resolution ballots, or ballots that voting machines couldn't automatically read, have still yet to be counted, and an automatic recount will occur if the margin becomes less than 1%.

Hanson, 48, has been with OPD for 26 years, and became embroiled in controversy when, earlier this month, a bodycam video was released showing Hanson using excessive force on a handcuffed individual. Gonzalez, 51, retired from OPD in January, but worked with OPD for 27 years, 9 of those as deputy police chief.

Hanson believes that voters supported him because of his priorities of protecting families, supporting honest police officers, and giving people a second chance.

"I feel glad that I stuck to the issues that I think people cared about," said Hanson, "I stuck to that message consistently, and I think it resonated."

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