Jesse McWilliams garnered 76.2 percent of the vote in Tuesday night’s Democratic primary to defeat Rich Lewis, Jr. in the race for the District 2 seat on the Butler County Commission.

With no Republican opposition in November’s General Election, McWilliams’ victory earns him a fourth term on the commission.

“I can’t really put into words what I’m feeling right now,” McWilliams said just moments after learning he had won the election. “To receive that type of support, it’s just hard to put into words.”

McWilliams, who has served as the chairman of the commission since 2004, said he was grateful to his family, friends and the people of District 2 for “sticking behind” him.

“Most commissioners don’t get the chance to serve a second term,” he said. “To now have the opportunity to serve for a fourth term is an honor.”

McWilliams, who received 509 votes, said he believes the work he and the rest of the commissioners have done during the past 12 years helped him earn another term.

“In that time we’ve worked very hard to bring jobs to Butler County,” he said. “We got the new correctional facility built. We’ve supported the public school system, and we’ve done the best we can to improve the road system. There’s still a lot of work to do, but I believe we have done good work and I think the people of District 2 understand that and understand that we’ll continue to work hard for the people of Butler County.”

Lewis, a retired Marine, received 159 votes.

“My opponent is a fine man, and a friend of mine,” McWilliams said. “He ran a good campaign and I’m proud that we both made it about the issues and didn’t campaign negatively against each other. I hope that he will continue to serve our community like he has always done.”