ARDMORE, Okla. (KTEN) — After an election, a recount, and finally a random drawing, DJ Long will be the next Carter County sheriff.

"We had to go precinct by precinct to have to sort out the Democrat ballot, the county propositions, Springer propositions... so that took some time," said Carter County Election Board secretary Diane Hall. "We have 28 precincts, so we had to count 28 precincts three times today."

The June 18 Republican primary for sheriff pitted incumbent Chris Bryant and challenger DJ Long. When all the votes had been counted, each candidate received exactly 2,569 votes.

After almost eight hours of counting and recounting the ballots by election officials on Friday, the result remained deadlocked.

The election board was left with only one option, by state law: To determine the winner of the race by a random drawing.

Just before 6 o'clock, Hall placed two pieces of paper into a silver tin — one with Sheriff Chris Bryant's name and one with DJ Long's.

The first paper drawn had "DJ Long" written on it.

"I was just... excited," Long said. "I mean, we've been hoping and praying that this was going to work out this way, and it did, and so... we got so much on the books that we want to try to accomplish and achieve and looking forward to the opportunity to go do it."

Sheriff Bryant saw his name come out of the tin second.

"This just shows the importance of people getting out and voting," he said. "Obviously, God has a different plan for me; I'm looking forward to that. You know, we just have to wait and see, wait and see what's in store next."

As Long looks forward to his time in the Carter County Sheriff's Office, he is also looking back on everyone who helped him through this memorable election.

"There's no greater honor than to be trusted, and to have someone have the confidence in you that they're willing to speak on your behalf. What else could a man hope for in his life?" he said.

While Long celebrates the win, Bryant is focused on the rest of his time as Carter County's number one lawman.

"This term will end December 31st, so I appreciate everybody's support," he said.

"I'm hoping not to ever have another recount, or a tie, for sure," Hall added. "I'm just relieved that it's over."