It appears attorney Tedd Nesbit of Grove City won a close victory in the 8th State House District Republican primary, according to Tuesday night’s unofficial election results.

Nesbit edged Grove City consultant Jeffrey Black by 136 votes, 1,951 to 1,815.

Herman Bauer, the Franklin Township Township supervisors chairman, finished with 1,264.

All precincts in the district, which includes parts of Butler and Mercer counties, were tallied. All absentee ballots in Butler County were included in the results.

“I’m ecstatic,” Nesbit said minutes after the first unofficial results in both counties were posted. “It was so close I don’t think it has sunk in yet.”

There is no Democratic candidate for the district, meaning Nesbit is all but guaranteed a win in November.

Nesbit will replace Rep. Dick Stevenson, a Republican, who is retiring.

“I look forward to serving the 8th District,” Nesbit said.

The Grove City native said it was a long, time- consuming campaign filled with trips to thousands of doors.

“We worked very hard,” he said. “I can never repay the support I’ve received.”

Nesbit said he had strong competition in Bauer and Black.

“Every candidate ran a good race,” he said.

Nesbit said Bauer called him shortly after the votes were posted to congratulate him on the victory.

“We’ve become good friends during the campaign,” he said. “He called to congratulate me.”

Nesbit said he has his work cut out to replace Stevenson.

“I’ve got big shoes to fill, that’s for sure,” he said.

Neither Bauer nor Black returned calls Tuesday night.

In Butler County, the district covers Brady, Center, Cherry, Clay, Franklin, Marion, Mercer, Muddy Creek and Worth townships and Harrisville, Portersville, West Liberty and West Sunbury.

It also covers southeastern Mercer County, including Grove City.

Bauer carried the vote in Butler County, with 941. Black followed with 395 while Nesbit finished third with 376.

But Nesbit was victorious in his home county, leading the way with 1,575 votes.

Black finished second with 1,420 while Bauer was a distant third with 323.

Each of the three candidates shared common opinions on many issues.

Nesbit said economic development in the district was perhaps his primary goal while campaigning.

He favors natural gas drilling, though he thinks regulations should be handled by the state.

He also supported tax reform through the elimination of property taxes. One area Nesbit said he differed from many Republicans was in his views on term limits.

He said he is against the idea since representatives face an election every two years.

The victory wasn’t cheap for Nesbit, who spent more than $11,000 campaigning since last November, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.

Nesbit said he was celebrating the victory with friends and family at his election headquarters in Grove City.

“We’re all very excited,” he said.