After many candidates for other races celebrated victory or accepted defeat, the Republican primary in the 17th Congressional District continues on.

As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, York Kleinhandler leads his opponent, Anthony Mele, by 179 votes.

Mele is also being investigated for allegedly defacing ballots. Authorities say that Mele entered a polling location and defaced 20-25 ballots that did not include his race on them. The polling location was located outside of the 17th District. The defaced ballots were turned over to the police.

Whoever is declared the winner of the primary will go on to face Democratic incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel in November.

Voters to decide on GOP candidate in U.S. House raceGOP congressional hopefuls seek nomination in Rockland

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