ST. CLOUD -- There appears to be a lead change in the race for Senate District 14. According to new numbers Democrat Aric Putnam has pulled in front of the incumbent Republican Jerry Relph.

The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office says after absentee ballots were counted Putnam is now leading Relph by 277 votes. Putnam has 18,243 votes to Relph's 17,966 votes. A third-party candidate received 3,115 votes.

The current results show 100 percent of the precincts reporting, but the race hasn't been certified and there still may be votes to be counted.

Putnam says,

"We're excited to be in the lead right now. I believe in this campaign, the community we've built, and the people of this district.".

Putnam says, if he in fact wins the race, he plans on taking the spring semester off as a professor at St. John's University but he will be teaching again in the fall.

Relph says 277 votes is a lot to overcome and at this point, he's not planning on requesting a recount, but if the Republican party asked for one he'd go along with it.

The change is significant because it could impact which party has the majority in the State Senate.

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