Democratic U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan was locked in a close race with Republican challenger Ed Martin in a bid to hold onto a St. Louis area House seat that has long been in Democratic control.
Carnahan led by a little more than 500 votes out of about 196,000 counted Tuesday night, with 97 percent of precincts reporting.
Carnahan first was elected in 2004 to succeed Dick Gephardt, a former House Democratic leader. He told supporters late Tuesday night in St. Louis that he expected to win the close race.
Carnahan is the son of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan and brother of Robin Carnahan, who lost a bid for Senate on Tuesday.
Martin is an attorney who served as chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Matt Blunt.