JEFFERSON —  By the slimmest of margins, voters in the Ohio House 99th District have picked Casey Kozlowski to represent them the next two years.

The 24-year-old Pymatuning Valley Board of Education member bested incumbent State Rep. Deborah Newcomb by a scant 41-vote margin, according to results certified by the Ashtabula County Board of Elections at a special Tuesday afternoon meeting. The two candidates collected more than 26,000 votes.

It’s not completely over — the Ohio secretary of state’s office is expected to order a recount that could be held Dec. 1. A sampling of the ballots will be re-examined in a process that could take a day or two to complete.

For that reason, Kozlowski — who attended the special meeting — tempered his enthusiasm after the election board’s vote to certify the results. “I’ll rest a little easier when the recount is finished,” he said.

Still, he couldn’t resist a broad smile while accepting congratulations from well-wishers in the audience.

“I’m pleased with the outcome,” he said. “This is the result of a year of knocking on doors and hard work. I took time off from work to dedicate myself to the campaign.”

Reached for comment, Newcomb held out little hope a recount would alter the outcome. “I’m not overly optimistic,” she said.

The Ashtabula County election board certified results for every other race and issue at a Monday morning meeting, but held off on the 99th District contest pending formal action by their counterparts in Trumbull County on Tuesday afternoon. The 99th District contains all of Ashtabula County and a very small slice of northern Trumbull County.

At the end, Newcomb carried Ashtabula County, but Trumbull voters favored her Republican challenger. Kozlowski collected 12,168 votes in Ashtabula County and another 872 in Trumbull for a 13,040 total. Newcomb earned 12,304 in Ashtabula County and 693 in Trumbull for a 12,997 result.

Independent candidate Tammy Roesch garnered 5,671 votes in Ashtabula County and 175 in Trumbull for a final total of 5,846 votes.

A recount is automatically ordered by the state if the margin in races is less than one half of 1 percent of the votes cast. The Kozlowski-Newcomb contest qualifies, board members were told.

“It appears to be involved in an automatic recount,” said Duane Feher, election board director.

The candidates will be formally notified of the pending recount via letter, he said.

Newcomb said she was caught up in a “Republican tsunami” that swept the nation on Nov. 2.

“It was a different type of election, as we saw across the country,” she said. “I knew it would be a tough election year going in. People are angry, and I don’t blame people for being upset. People are unhappy from the federal level all the way down.”

Last week, Newcomb filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission, alleging Kozlowski made false statements in his campaign literature and advertisements. A probable cause hearing on the complaint will be held Dec. 2, Newcomb confirmed. Kozlowski said last week he stood by the accuracy of his campaign material.

Newcomb has worked in the public sector for years, serving as a Conneaut City Council member, council president and Ashtabula County commissioner before she was tabbed to replace George Distel as the 99th District representative in March 2008. She easily won a new term in November of that year.

Newcomb said she was proud of the work she did in Columbus on behalf of the county, especially issues affecting senior citizens. Asked her plans for the future, Newcomb was non-committal, but indicated she may take a break from politics.

“It may be time for a new direction,” she said. “Everything happens for a reason.”