YOUNGSTOWN — The margin of victory for Republican Lynn Maro over Democrat Gina DeGenova for Mahoning County prosecutor was small, with Maro getting 50.4% of the vote over DeGenova’s 49.6%– a difference of 815 votes out of 106,475 votes cast, according to unofficial vote counts.

It appears the difference is insufficient to trigger an automatic recount in the race.

There were several communities in the county where the race was tight — in Austintown, Boardman and Struthers for instance. DeGenova won Austintown with 51.1% of the vote, Boardman with 52.2% and Struthers with 50.2%. DeGenova also won Campbell with 56.35%.

Other areas where the vote totals were close were Maro’s win in Canfield with 53.6% of the vote, Lowellville with 54.8%, Poland with 56.9%, Craig Beach with 57.2% and Poland Township with 58.1%

Maro won by wider margins in New Middletown with 59.3%, Washingtonville with 60.8%, Coitsville Township with 61.5%, Beaver Township with 61.6%, Canfield Township with 61.7% and Sebring with 61.1%.

The differences in vote totals were quite large in many other places. DeGenova won Youngstown with 70.9% of the vote. And Maro won many townships and a village by large margins.

In Smith Township, Maro won with 74.5% of the vote, 73.9% in Goshen Township, 72.2% in the village of Beloit, 69.7% in Green Township, 69% in Ellsworth Township, 67.4% in Jackson Township, 67.2% in Berlin Township, 65.2% in Springfield Township and 64% in Milton Township.

The voting totals at various points Tuesday night followed the pattern that would be expected in a county where the greatest percentage of Democrat voters are concentrated in Youngstown and other nearby communities and the majority of the Republican voters are farther away.

The first vote totals in the prosecutor’s race contained 62,412 votes, more than half of the 106,475 votes cast.

Those results suggested that DeGenova was doing well against Maro, with DeGenova having 56.6% of the vote. But as the night wore on, Maro consistently cut into DeGenova’s lead until the final vote totals arrived a little before 11 p.m., and Maro had won by a close margin.

Commissioners’ race

Republican Geno DiFabio, who won his race for Mahoning County commissioner Tuesday over incumbent Democrat David Ditzler, said he understood that many of the latest vote totals would come in late from the rural areas of Mahoning County that tend to vote Republican.

DiFabio said he felt good to be only 7,000 votes down to Ditzler when the first results came out Tuesday night because he was down 10,000 votes down to Democrat Carol Rimedio Righetti at that point when he ran against her two years earlier.

He noted that it takes longer for election results to be brought to the Mahoning County Board of Elections from the rural parts of the county, so they arrive the latest.

DeGenova, who has served as county prosecutor for 23 months after former county prosecutor Paul Gains retired, said Friday in an email, “The electorate seemed to vote along party lines during this election cycle.” But she stated that she is pleased by the “overwhelming support we received throughout the county.”

She added, “I am honored to have served this community for nearly 20 years and leave my office with no regrets. I wish Attorney Maro well.”

When Maro was asked about the distribution of the results in the prosecutor’s race, she said, “As a novice in the political arena, I am very happy with the support I received across Mahoning County and look forward to serving the citizens of Mahoning County. I was pleased to hear from Gina DeGenova and look forward to working with her to ensure a smooth transition.”