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Scott County recount now has Cooper ahead of Stoltenberg in race for Iowa House District 81

Scott County will canvass results on Monday, Nov. 21.
Credit: WQAD

DAVENPORT, Iowa — On election night, it appeared that Republican Luana Stoltenberg had won the race by just 29 votes against Democrat Craig Cooper in the race for Iowa House District 81. 

The Iowa Secretary of State's website reports, as of Friday afternoon, that Cooper is leading by just six votes after Scott County finished its final recount.

“Accuracy is the most important factor in elections, and we want to make sure the results are correct before they are certified,” Secretary Paul Pate said in a release. “The checks and balances we have in place caught the error and I extend my thanks to Scott County for fixing it in a transparent, bipartisan manner. The integrity of Iowa’s elections is once again upheld.”

Despite the roller coaster of emotions over the past week, both candidates said they were confident in the outcome. 

"I am confident that I still won the race," Stoltenburg said before the recount ended on Friday. "I don't have numbers to prove it, but you know what? When you go through all the emotions ... but I still feel like we won. I really do. Whether we win by the numbers or not, we still won it because I met so many amazing people."

"I look forward to it," the representative-elect said before the recount ended. "It's not just confidence. Like I want to do it, I want to represent the people of House District 81. I think I would make a good representative for them and would be open to their needs and transparent."

Last week, election officials announced 470 ballots were not added to the official total. After Tuesday's recount, machines got jammed, which caused the 19 ballots to be counted twice. A new outcome in this election could be seen after this recount.

Pate's office will certify the state's election results on Dec. 5. 

RELATED: Here's why Iowa is doing more election audits this year

RELATED: Recount continues in Scott County as election officials total ballots absentee ballots by hand

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