Every incumbent representing Butler County in the state General Assembly has been reelected to another term.

While little doubt remained after Election Day votes were tallied by midnight Wednesday in the county, the final mail-in ballot accounting solidified the incumbents' leads over their challengers.

But with the mail-in ballots, some races got a little more interesting or definitively went toward the incumbent.

The totals while including mail-in ballots, however, are not official until certified by the secretary of state.

Daniel Smith Jr. had hoped mail-in ballots would bring him to victory over state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, after he was down by nearly 14,000 Election Day votes.

But after the mail-in ballots were tabulated, Metcalfe's lead shrank to 10,000 votes — or roughly 23 percentage points.

The county Elections Bureau counted 9,483 mail-in votes for Smith, which wasn't enough to overcome Metcalfe's lead, especially when the incumbent also received 5,218 mail votes.

“It's been a great ride and I will never forget the passion that drove me to do what I did, to bring the kind of representation I feel our area hasn't received in 22 years,” Smith said Wednesday night.

Metcalfe, who has served in the House since 1999, could not be reached for comment.

Read the full story in Friday's Butler Eagle.