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Jennifer Durling, who won the Potts Mountain District on Craig County's Board of Supervisors, thanked supporters and promised they would have a voice in county decisions.

Durling, who defeated incumbent Sandra Ross Ulrey, said she hopes Craig can find revenue sources besides taxes, which she said are already too heavy a burden for many landowners.

Durling said areas she might encourage the county to consider would be trails for four-wheelers, a family-friendly campground in the national forest or low-tech industry that would not require extensive training.

Republican Charles Poindexter lost to Democrat Eric Ferguson in both Floyd and Franklin counties, but trammeled his opponent so decisively in Pittsylvania that we was able to pull out a a victory the 9th house district seat by a margin thin as November frost.

Just 360 votes separated the front runners in a race where nearly 22,000 votes were cast, and an indpendent, Jerry Boothe, garnered nearly 2,100 ballots.

Ferguson just didn't bank enough votes in Floyd and Franklin to withstand the slaughter in Pittsylvania.

Republican Ewell Hunt has won the race for Franklin County Sheriff's Office with a paper-thin margin of 222 votes over Democrat Bill Overton.

The race pitted two department veterans against one another. Hunt is a lieutenant in the department, while Overton is a captain, and the son of long, long-time incumbent W.Q. "Quint" Overton, who is retiring.

Two other candidates, Lynn Frith and M. Wayne Hodges, were not a factor.

Also in Franklin County, the Union Hall District, which adjoins Smith Mountain Lake, will be represented by Franklin County Sheriff's Lt. David Cundiff next year. Redwood Express owner Ronnie Robertson also ran for the post, but lost decisively to Cundiff. The seat went up for grabs when Charles Poindexter chose to run for House of Delegates

Craig County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Helen Looney won a second term, defeating J.R. Day 283-169, according to the State Board of Elections Web site.

Looney said she looks forward to pressing for new tourism initiatives and continuing improvement plans that supervisors already have begun.

After cruising to an easy victory in the 11th house district, Democrat Onzlee Ware said the recent outing of his past brushes with the law -- and a gun -- may have actually helped him.

Ware defeated independent Delvis O. "Mac" McCadden for the seat that represents parts of Roanoke and Roanoke County.

"I think to a lot of people, it made me even more human, because everybody has made a mistake," Ware said shortly after giving a victory speech to supporters who gathered in his downtown Roanoke law office.

Ware, as a college student in Greensboro, N.C., was charged with possession of heroin and marijuana in 1975. The events were first reported Oct. 23 by The Roanoke Times. The newspaper confirmed the charges after getting a tip from one of Ware’s political foes.

"I think people didn’t like it, and I think they thought it was a cheap shot," Ware said Tuesday night.

Our latest election night analysis looks at Ralph Smith's victory in the 22nd senate district and covers what else to look for around the state.

With 70 of 71 precincts in, Republican Ralph Smith has a slim 758 vote lead over Democrat Mike Breiner in the race for the 22nd district state senate seat.

The last precinct to be tallied is the absentee votes precinct in Montgomery County. Breiner has run well there, but it will be very hard for Breiner to gain over 700 votes in an absentee precinct.

With 19 of 24 precincts reporting, the four-way Franklin County Sheriff's Office appears destined to go down to the wire, with Republican front runner Ewell Hunt leading Democrat Bill Overton by just 206 votes.

As Franklin County voting totals have been read out in the board of supervisors meeting room, onlookers have sucked in their breath as each number brings the race closer. Hunt, a lieutenant in the Sheriff's Office, is battling it out with Capt. Billy Overton, the son of hugely popular Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton, who is retiring.

In the Franklin County Circuit Court Clerk's race, Teresa Brown, endorsed by retiring clerk Alice Hall, has beaten Jackie Brubaker by wide margins in every precinct.

Edward Jamison has won the three way contest to replace Carl Dudley as the school board member for the Blue Ridge District. Dudley vacated the post to run for Franklin County Board of Supervisors.

Craig County voters unseated the vice chairman of the school board.

Christopher Labiosa, who represented the Craig Creek District, lost to challenger Jennifer Fisher McPherson, 143-298, according to the State Board of Elections Web site.

Labiosa, who had served three years on the board, said he wished McPherson well and was sure she'll do a fine job.

Eleventh district House of Delegates incumbent Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, apparently was not hurt by a late-in-the-campaign revelation that he once used heroin, became and government informant and was apparently shot for his cooperation with authorities.

He was pummeling independent Delvis O. "Mac" McCadden by a nearly two-to-one margin with 23 of 25 precincts counted. McCadden, a former Roanoke city councilman and political veteran, had intended to challenge Ware for the nomination in a local Democratic party recently taken over by leaders with little love for Ware. But McCadden failed to get his paperwork in on time. He revived his run as an independent, but to no avail.

By 9:15 p.m., McCadden had tallied a victory in only one precinct, on Williamson Road in Roanoke.