In the race for state representative of the 87th District, incumbent Republican Clyde Evans defeated first-time candidate Democrat Shane Meldick. The district includes half of Lawrence County and Ross County as well as Jackson, Gallia and Vinton counties.

With unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Web site on Tuesday, Evans had 62 percent of the total with 29,922, and Meldick had 38 percent of the total with 18,584.

The percentages were similar in Lawrence County; Evans got 61 percent of the vote with 7,835 votes and Meldick got 39 percent with 5,021 votes.

Evans, who has been in the state representative’s office for six years, said the elections are in the hand of the people.

“I am just grateful to them for permitting me to make decisions for them and putting me in Columbus for another two years,” he said. “I am going to do the best I can.”

While many incumbent Republicans faced a political backlash and lost their seats this election, Evans said that it is hard work that helped keep him in office.

“I started working as hard the day after the election two years ago and I’ve worked hard all the way,” he said. “When you do that, I think you come out OK. I just work very hard.”

Besides being a full-time legislator, Evans makes numerous trips to the counties in his district. By his estimates, he has had 350 open door meetings with his constituents in the past six years. He will be back in Lawrence County on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Chesapeake branch of the Briggs Lawrence County Library.

The former educator and administrator from University of Rio Grande said he would continue to work on the state’s education issues during his next term.

“We are going to concentrate on any type of legislation that deals with economic development in the state and a major part of that is education,” Evans said. “There is no magic to it, it’s a gradual process where you have to keep improving all the time.”

He said he hopes to bring changes that will improve the education of all children in the state and to not overlook any student.

Meldick, a farmer, truck driver and timber cutter, has been the president of the Jackson and Vinton County Farm Bureau for four years, said he wanted “to make sure the 87th District has their voice as well.”

Meldick’s line was busy late Tuesday night and he could not be reached for comment.