Jackson County election results released early Wednesday morning show state’s attorney candidates Joseph Cervantez and Marsha Cascio-Hale tied with exactly 10,805 votes each. 

Both candidates attended watch parties in Murphysboro on election night. Cervantez, as well as other Republican candidates like county coroner candidate Kent Arnold and Circuit Clerk candidate Chris Maynor, went to Brews Brothers Taproom. Cascio-Hale went to the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall less than 500 feet away, along with Democratic Circuit Clerk candidate Christian Hale, who is Cascio-Hale’s husband.

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Spirits were high in both candidates early election night, and Cervantez was leading most of the night by 20% with just over 25% of registered voters in the county, compared to 69.41% total voter turnout. This lead narrowed to 15% with 43% of registered voters counted at 9:30 p.m.

Results stalled at 9:30 p.m., according to the Jackson County Clerk’s Office, as grace period voters were still waiting in line to vote in Carbondale. Official updates weren’t released until 1:58 a.m. Wednesday, when results showed that the two candidates had tied exactly. 

Cervantez expressed pride in his campaign’s message of competence and common ground beyond party affiliation.

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“We don’t have to follow the lines of Washington politics,” Cervantez said at the watch party. “I think my message has hit home. I see my signs in new places this year, next to Trump signs as well as next to Harris signs.”

Cascio-Hale said she was proud of her campaign’s accomplishments, watching Cervantez’s lead shrink but not willing to draw any conclusions at her results watch party. 

“We had a good campaign,” Cascio-Hale said. “I’d like to thank everyone for their support and the work put into this election.”

Jackson County Clerk Frank Byrd clarified the procedure for determining the winner of the election. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 5 will still be counted for the next two weeks; a demographic of voters Cascio-Hale, a Democrat, has led over Cervantez, a Republican, by 40%, according to election data released by the county clerk’s office.

“The thing of it is, it’s a close race and there’s usually a 5% difference and they can ask for a discovery, which means that they want to recount,” Byrd said. “Of course, that’s something that they have to pay for, but that’s up to the candidate, and then we move forward on that.”

Cervantez said that the chances of such a result are “ridiculous.”

“The reason why it’s hard to believe is because there’s such a stark contrast between us,” Cervantez said. “You’re talking about an individual who has never done a trial, who has never been a prosecutor aside from being a political appointee. I think it’s just a matter of having a really strong turnout in Carbondale.”

Cascio-Hale declined to comment when reached out to on Wednesday.

Staff reporter Morrigan Carey can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.

Editors Note: This story has been updated to add additional information on the race results 

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