James Walsh, a Republican from Aberdeen, has ultimately retained his slim lead by a margin just shy of 1 percent over his opponent, Teresa Purcell, a Democrat from Longview, in the race for 19th District, Position 1 of the Washington State House.

Only 559 votes separated Walsh and Purcell. The Secretary of State’s Office reports that as of Nov. 30, Walsh had 28,693 votes (50.49 percent) and Purcell had 28,134 votes (49.51 percent).

Though the total numbers of votes for Walsh and Purcell are close, Walsh has enough of a lead to not require an automatic recount, according to state elections rules.

Counties across the state certified election results by Nov. 29, including Grays Harbor County. Voter participation was at 78.76 percent overall in Washington. It was 73.55 percent in Grays Harbor.

State certification is on Dec. 7, according to a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

“We look over every county’s submission to make sure we don’t spot anything that needs our attention,” said Dave Ammons, communications director.

Soon after that, Walsh will take the oath of office in Grays Harbor County and officially join with Sen. Dean Takko and Rep. Brian Blake, to represent residents of the 19th District, which includes portions of Grays Harbor, Lewis and Cowlitz as well as Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.

The Washington State Legislature begins its 2017 session on Jan. 9 in Olympia. Training sessions have been held this week and Walsh is among the new state legislators participating.

He will replace Rep. JD Rossetti, who was appointed to the House seat in late 2015.