One Beaufort County Commissioner candidate has requested a recount after Tuesday’s canvassing by the Board of Elections narrowed the margin between third and fourth place vote-getters to eight votes.

Don Cox, who ran against Frankie Waters, Ron Buzzeo, Keith Kidwell and Stan Deatherage in the Republican commissioners’ race, has requested the recount. Three seats on the county’s board will be available come November’s election — Cox came in fourth behind Waters, Buzzeo and Kidwell.

“Well, when the election was held last Tuesday, at the end of the election, I was only down by ten votes,” Cox said. “After today, after the canvassing has been done, I’m only done by eight.  …  I do believe that with a recount, it might go in my favor.”

Cox said he had been counting on a third-place finish, believing that if he could make the primary, he’d have no trouble getting elected in the general election.

“This one is not over, we still could get it, we could squeak into this thing. If we get in by two votes, to me it’s just as good as finishing third,” he said.

Cox and Kidwell’s race for third won’t be the only race getting a second look. Both second-place finishers in the Beaufort County Sheriff’s race have requested a second primary, said Kellie Hopkins, Beaufort County Board of Elections director. Harry Meredith edged out Ernie Coleman by 39 votes in the Republican primary, while Russell Davenport came in with 44 votes more than Al J. Whitney in the Democratic primary. Whitney made the request May 9; Coleman on Tuesday.

A second primary likely will not fall on June 24, as predicted. Hopkins said, though not official, U.S. Congressional Districts 5 and 6 will be headed into second primaries, which affects when all North Carolina primaries will be held. While U.S. Congressional Districts 5 and 6 do not affect Beaufort County voters, a second primary for any federal race in North Carolina means a July 15 primary date.

Hopkins said very few vote totals changed with the canvassing, although some provisional and absentee ballots were added. There were no errors in reporting, she said.

“We’ll see how the recount goes, but other than that it was a pretty clean election,” Hopkins.