Jason MacBride has secured the Republican nomination for Ontario County District Attorney, defeating incumbent Jim Ritts in a tightly contested primary.
The Ontario County Board of Elections announced the final results Tuesday afternoon after counting remaining mail-in ballots. MacBride received 2,191 votes to Ritts’ 2,088 — a margin of 103 votes.
MacBride held a 115-vote lead following in-person voting on June 24, which narrowed slightly after absentee ballots were tallied.
Following the announcement, District Attorney Jim Ritts released a statement expressing disappointment with the outcome but reaffirmed his commitment to run in the November general election.
“I’m disappointed to have come up short in the Republican Primary by 103 votes, but I’m looking forward to running in the General Election where we’ll have far greater voter turnout,” Ritts said.
He criticized MacBride’s candidacy, calling him “a public safety disaster for our community,” and pledged to continue his campaign despite what he described as pressure from “political insiders.”
Ritts also pointed to low turnout in the primary, noting that fewer than 4,300 people voted — roughly 5% of the county’s more than 80,000 registered voters.
“When the full population considers the candidates and votes in November,” Ritts added, “I’m optimistic that they’ll deliver a different result than this razor-thin Primary.”
