Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Rockfield, pays attention to projected polls, but he believes only one poll matters.

“There’s only one poll that counts, and that’s tonight,” DeCesare said after being elected to the state House of Representatives.

DeCesare and others gathered tonight at the Republican Party headquarters in Warren County.

DeCesare didn’t want to talk about his win until the final results came in, he said.

“I don’t want to jinx myself,” DeCesare said.

DeCesare defeated his opponent, Charlene Rabold, with 59.5 percent of the vote to 40.5 percent, according to the Kentucky State Board of Elections Web site. DeCesare got 12,263 votes, and Rabold got 8,358 votes.

“I feel like a hundred bucks,” DeCesare said.

Union junior Shane Noem, president of the College Republicans, was also at the headquarters.

Elections such as DeCesare’s are more important to voters than highly publicized elections, Noem said.

“They make more of an effect on daily lives,” he said.

Michael Mills, a Republican from Bowling Green, said DeCesare has done a good job in office.

“He’s been a good person,” Mills said.

Some leaned forward to watch election results scrolling down a TV screen in the headquarters.

People at the headquarters ate snacks including elephant-shaped cookies painted red, white and blue.

Judy Warner, a volunteer at the headquarters, said she felt nervous while awaiting the election results.

“I’ve worked every day for three weeks,” she said of her involvement in campaigning.

While DeCesare announced his win at the headquarters, supporters of Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, gathered in the Holiday Inn Convention Center.

Guthrie won the Kentucky second district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Guthrie defeated his opponent, David Boswell with 61.9 percent of the vote to Boswell’s 38.1 percent, according to the Kentucky State Board of Elections Web site. Guthrie got 28,806 votes, and Boswell got 16,517 votes.

The crowd waited for Guthrie to announce his race’s results.

Rep. Richie Sanders, R-Franklin, said he thought it was a practical joke when he first heard Guthrie was running for U.S. Congress because the person who told him often plays practical jokes.

Since he learned it wasn’t a joke, he’s been helping Guthrie campaign.

Those at the convention center watched Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on TV as they waited for Guthrie to speak.

McConnell was re-elected to the U.S. Senate with 53 percent of the vote. His opponent, Bruce Lunsford, got 47 percent of the vote, according to the Kentucky State Board of Elections Web site. McConnell got 953,603 votes, and Lunsford got 846,724 votes.

As Guthrie checked his cell phone, a man standing by him gave a thumbs up to someone across the room.

The crowd erupted in cheering and clapping as Guthrie stepped up to the podium.

“There are people that are hurting today, and we need to go to Washington and remember that,” Guthrie said.

Reach Marianne Hale at news@chherald.com.