NATCHEZ &045;&045; The results of Tuesday’s special election to fill a vacant District 94 state House of Representatives seat are still too close to call, according to election officials.

In fact, at one point Tuesday evening, Natchez Alderman James &uot;Rickey&uot; Gray had made a concession speech to supporters, thinking at that time that fellow candidate Tim Morrison had pulled ahead to be in the Aug. 17 runoff.

That was because, when just Adams County was counted, Morrison had received a few more votes than Gray.

But when votes from one Claiborne County precinct and three Jefferson County precincts were included, Gray had received 1,249 votes to Morrison’s 1,236 votes &045;&045; enough to face frontrunner Robert Johnson, a Natchez attorney who won 1,577 votes.

&uot;When they calculated the votes the first time around, I was unofficially behind,&uot; Gray said following a campaign gathering at the Elks Lodge.

&uot;I made a speech to my supporters telling them they did a great job, and that next time we’ll just start a little harder.&uot;

Still, Gray was withholding most of his comments until those unofficial numbers are officially certified.

Election commissioners are expected to begin certifying the votes at about 10 a.m. today at the Adams County Courthouse. It was not known as of Tuesday how long certification could take.

Morrison was disappointed with Tuesday night’s results, but he said he would be present for the certification today to see if the numbers changed.

&uot;We’ll go through the process in the morning,&uot; he said late Tuesday.

Morrison noted that Johnson’s and Gray’s home precincts had had a strong turnout &045;&045; but his own precinct had only about 15 percent turnout. &uot;Throughout the district I had broad support,&uot; Morrison said.

Johnson attributed his strong showing in Tuesday’s contest to the hard work of his supporters and to his previous record in the state Senate.

&uot;We did door-to-door, telephone, grassroots campaigning. I just tried to meet as many people as I could,&uot; Johnson said during a campaign gathering at the Old Brick House.

&uot;It’s important to me for the people to know my record, that I was active and productive in the Senate.&uot;

Johnson said that with the limited number of House seats the area has, it’s especially important to have state representatives with experience and seniority.

Johnson also called on supporters of Morrison and fourth-runner Jacqueline Carter Sullivan to support him in the runoff.

Sullivan gathered 432 votes in Tuesday’s election.