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PICKENS COUNTY — In the race between Pat Welborn and Ben Finley, Welborn apparently won a razor-thin victory Tuesday in a runoff election Tuesday and will be the next Pickens County Clerk of Court.

The tallies Tuesday were 2,160 votes for Welborn, or 50.93 percent of the vote, to Finley’s 2,081, or 49.07 percent.

The 79-vote margin was enough to give Welborn a majority barring the final count of failsafe votes on Thursday, when the election is expected to be certified.

No figures were available as of Tuesday regarding how much money each candidate spent during the runoff and the primary.

Incumbent LeJette Gatlin, who backed Welborn, did not seek re-election, and Democrats did not field a candidate for the Clerk of Court race. So the new clerk of court for Pickens County will be the winner of Tuesday’s runoff unless there is an unexpected write-in candidate.

Phillip Bowers, Pickens County Republican Party chairman said, “We are glad the primary season is over. I feel the Republican Party will field a strong slate of candidates in the fall and will do well at the polls. This good turnout today for a runoff election should send a message to candidates in the general election that voters are carefully weighing their options as they vote. It is also a tribute to our hard working candidates.”

In statements leading up to the runoff, Finley said he was going door-to-door to ask for citizen support and was stressing his experience in working in law enforcement and the court system.

“I don’t like the idea of using so many signs in the county. I would rather talk to folks in small groups and reach them with my message that way,” Finley said.

Welborn used a telephone calling blitz during the last week of the campaign featuring recorded calls from his wife and LeJette Gatlin. He also used a sign campaign with strategically placed mobile-mounted trucks and posted a large banner at the Liberty Idol contest last Saturday night as part of his campaign.