After an extremely close special election in April, Assemblyman Chris Tague, a Republican, has kept his seat in the 102nd District of the State Assembly, according to unofficial election results. Tague won by almost 8,000 votes, gaining 55.61 percent of the ballot.

“I think the people have spoken,” said Tague on Election Night. He later added, “They’re looking for someone in terms of experience.” He said that his half-year in the legislature showed he had that experience.

Tague’s opponent, Greene County Legislature Minority Leader Aidan O’Connor, a Democrat, took 41.35 percent of votes.

“I could not be more proud of our campaign and our message,” said O’Connor on Wednesday, adding that he would not change any aspect of the past few months’ campaign.

In a majority-Republican district, O’Connor believes his campaign had “significant crossover appeal” in order to gain 40 percent of the vote, and said he was thankful to those who voted regardless of their party enrollment.

Tague won 28,053 of 50,448 votes while O’Connor garnered 20,858 votes, according to unofficial results from the New York State Board of Elections. The 102nd District includes all of Schoharie and Greene counties, and parts of Albany, Columbia, Ulster, Delaware, and Otsego counties. In Albany County’s section, which includes the towns of Coeymans, Rensselaerville, and Westerlo, Tague won by about 700 votes in a mostly Democratic area.

Tague won the assembly seat in a special election on April 24 after Republican Peter Lopez stepped down to take a position at the federal Environmental Protection Agency. After absentee ballots came in, Tague won by 159 votes. O’Connor ran against him in the April race, as did third-party candidate Wesley Laraway, who did not run in the general election.

Tague said that the special election, which garnered less than half of Tuesday night’s votes, was not comparable to the general election, and said that there were not enough absentee ballots to make it another close race.

“There’s no way,” he said. “This election’s over.”

The assemblyman said he was grateful to all those who had voted and said he would next be holding meetings with constituents in the coming days before returning to the legislature for its first session in January.

O’Connor did not run for re-election for his seat on the county legislature, and said he will be leaving his post at the end of the year. He said he will continue to work as a business manager for LifeNet and he will continue his volunteer work in organizations like the local Rotary club, the charity Equinox, and serving as a paramedic in Greenport (Columbia County). O’Connor added that he will be attempting to make changes through not-for-profits rather than through politics, and said he may even consider starting his own.