Update: Holcomb and Boedeker Slug it Out in 81

Update: 10:32; Race could be out for Boedecker. Boedecker 45 percent vs. 55 percent for Holcomb with 55 percent. 

Update: 9:35 p.m;Race tightens a bit. Boedecker 43.5 perecent vs. 56.4 for Holcomb. 9,695 votes counted. Still a wide margin. 60 percent is a whooping

Update: 9:00 p.m.; In the state House 81 race, Holcomb leads Boedeker 57% to 43% with 5 of 16 precincts in that race reporting.Holcomb looking good.

Our reporter at DeKalb election central reporting that in-person absentee votes for House District 81: 6,020 votes total; Boedeker, 2,626 votes and 43.6 percent; Holcomb, 3,389 votes and 56.30 percent.

Tucker, North Druid Hills and Brookhaven’s hotly contested legislative election started in a unorthodox manner. Georgia's legislative maps were redrawn to conform to new census numbers. That would affect the race from the start.

It meant GOP hopeful Chris Boedeker would ultimately face Democrat incumbent Scott Holcomb, after junior legislator Elena Parent voluntarily stepped out of the race and chose not to run for re-election in the newly configured district.

Parent’s and Holcomb’s districts were merged into one single District 81 by legislative Republicans when Georgia's legislative maps were redrawn to conform to the new numbers.

Reapportionment is mandated every 10 years with each new Census, to reflect population changes. The state's majority party is responsible for re-drawing the maps, and in 2010, that responsiblity fell to Georgia Republicans.

Both Parent and Holcomb have referred to each other as friends and colleagues, and are widely considered to be rising stars within the Georgia Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, Boedeker displayed bare-knuckled tactics in his primary fight and the general election to do what it takes. With GOP opponent Carla Roberts , that contest was filled with accusations flying back and forth from both sides. Boedeker tried to have Roberts disqualified from the race by saying she wasn't a legal resident, a charge that was dismissed. Roberts claimed intimidation.

The general race has been no less controversial, as both cadndidates have papered Tucker, Brookhaven and North Druid Hills with mailers.

Some went negative, even by parties. House Democrats accused Boedeker of suggesting Holcomb used illegal drugs while serving in the U.S. Army.

Holcombs’s supporters remained silent after the primary, but Boedeker's charge against Holcomb finally prompted a statement that defended his service:

Boedecker’s GOP challenger Roberts had this to say: "Mr. Boedeker’s campaign commercial used doctored video to make it sound as though his opponent ... had admitted to using drugs. Rep. Holcomb, a military veteran, said nothing of the sort, but the fabricated implication was crystal clear ... Mr. Boedeker’s deplorable attempt to smear the reputation of a man who put his life on the line to protect American citizens has made my continued silence impossible."

Roberts, who lost in the GOP July primary, also defended herself against accusations she “didn’t live in the district.”

Stay with Patch throughout election day and night for up-to-the-minute results as votes come in.