Butch Lawter, an engineer and a former Clayton Town Council member, won a seat on the council Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Clayton residents had a chance to vote in a special election Tuesday to fill two town council seats.

Unofficial results, including early and absentee ballots and all seven precincts:

Butch Lawter: 257
Alex Harding (incumbent): 245
Art Holder: 245
Alexander Atchinson (incumbent): 189
Michael Starks: 11

Eight provisional votes could decide who gets the second council seat. They will be counted at the latest on Tuesday, December 11, according to Leigh Anne Price, Director of the Johnston County Board of Elections.

"I had a lot of help today," Lawter said. "Friends making calls. Family making calls. I really think that made the difference."

In terms of priorities, he said: "The biggest thing I want to do is make sure that we spend the money we have wisely and take a look at all the items in the budget to make sure there's not items that we can postpone until better times."

Officials expected a record low turnout. Just 526 people voted out of 9,711 who were eligible.