After a fluid race where an incumbent lost in the primary, another Democratic primary loser ran as a Republican and there were strong write-in candidates, Eric Papenfuse won in the end.

With 22 out of 28 precincts reporting, Papenfuse had 2,581 votes to his Republican challenger’s 1,641. The Dauphin County Board of Elections combines all write-in candidates in their online reporting, which totaled 815.

Papenfuse won the Democratic primary and was able to translate that momentum into a slew of local endorsements, including that of the Harrisburg Patriot News. He’s the owner of a Harrisburg bookstore.

His opponent, Dan Miller, lost in the Democratic primary, but was able to secure a place on the ballot as a Republican. He would have been the first openly gay elected mayor of a major city in Pennsylvania.

Papenfuse won’t be coming into an easy job. Harrisburg is a financially distressed municipality looking for a plan to keep their finances afloat, a plan that may include bankruptcy.