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It was just too close to call.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Eric Olivas had a solid lead over Byron Powdrell in the Democratic primary for the District 5 seat while former County Clerk Linda Stover was a sniff ahead of Damian Lara for county assessor, according to unofficial election results late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Thomas Riley appeared on track to win the Republican primary for District 5 against Wayne Yevoli with 70% of the vote. 

As of 9:30 p.m., Olivas had the lead over Powdrell with 56% of the vote, according to unofficial election results. The assessor race remained close, with Stover taking 52% of the vote.

If victorious, Olivas will face Riley in November. With no challenger in sight, the winner between Stover and Lara will become the next county assessor.

Olivas said he was "extremely confident" he would prevail.

"My team has the unofficial results from around the city, so we're thrilled. I'm very grateful to the voters for allowing me the opportunity to keep serving," he said, adding that he looked forward to a "spirited, competitive, race" come November.

Powdrell saw the uphill battle before him but 鈥� with votes still to be counted 鈥� wasn't ready to concede. He said, "we didn't have a large team and we did the best we could. I feel that my team did an awesome job."

Powdrell said, should he lose, he would call Olivas on Wednesday to congratulate him.

In the run-up to the primary, Olivas said he would expand the sheriff's office's metro team to increase public safety, update behavioral health services and address infrastructure issues in the East Mountains. Powdrell said he would seek to bolster public safety, particularly in Southeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and tackle mental health issues, specifically for those isolated in the East Mountains.

Riley was at an Elk's Lodge meeting Tuesday and wasn't keeping track of the polls. He said he was feeling 鈥減retty good鈥� after he got a text from his wife that he had a large lead over Yevoli, who could not be reached.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a good evening,鈥� Riley said. 鈥淚 am glad the voters have trusted someone young to lead the future of District 5.鈥�

Riley said that, as county commissioner, he would work with authorities to crack down on open-air drug markets in the city, focus on water conservation in the East Mountains and try to end the county's 鈥渟anctuary鈥� jurisdiction.

When reached Tuesday night, Lara said he wasn't conceding but knew Stover had an edge.

"I worked hard. I have an incredibly talented team鈥� we're grateful for the work that we've done so far and I can hold my head up high," he said. "Regardless of what happens tonight, I did the best I could for the people of Bernalillo County, and that's nothing that I can regret."

Lara said he was grateful to serve and "God willing, to continue to serve."

Stover said she was feeling "very positive" about how the evening was going, adding that she foresaw victory when she signed up to run.

"I'm looking forward to the new beginnings in the county assessor's office and being able to actually work for the public and for the residents in Bernalillo County," Stover said. "There's a lot that needs to be looked at and things to be done."

Lara, a former attorney who was elected assessor in 2022, ran on his work helping lower the tax rate, called a mill rate, for the largest bracket of residential properties and making progress in economic development in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Stover, a familiar face in local politics, most notably as two-term county clerk, said she would work to restore trust between the assessor鈥檚 office and the business community while focusing on fairness.

During their respective campaigns, Stover accused Lara of enacting policies that were "unfair" and hurt sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 business community. Lara stood behind his policies throughout, saying reassessing derelict properties encouraged absentee owners to sell.

Stover referred to the disagreements Tuesday, saying she was "very disappointed in the campaign itself."

"I think it got really nasty when it didn't need to. We should have just run on information and not gotten personal, but it is what it is," Stover said, adding that she had not spoken to Lara.

Lara on Tuesday night said, "I know that a lot of people who weren't used to paying their fair share were very upset, but I know that I did the right thing."