Oklahoma: Cherokees elect chief but recount needed – UPI.com

The Cherokee Nation elected a new principal chief by just 11 votes and a recount is under way, officials in Oklahoma said.

After a night of counting and recounting, tribal council member Bill John Baker defeated incumbent Principal Chief Chad Smith by a 7,600 to 7,589, the Tulsa World reported Monday.

“Every day on the campaign trail, I have said ‘we all come from one fire,'” Baker said. “Now that the election is over, I hope we can all join together to keep our fire burning brighter than ever before.”

Oklahoma: Certified Results: Cherokee Chief Chad Smith Wins By 7 | KOTV.com

The Cherokee Nation election commission says its official count of the ballots from last weekend’s election give the victory to incumbent principal chief Chad Smith by seven votes.

The certified results released Monday afternoon in Tahlequah have Chad Smith with 7,609 votes and challenger Bill John Baker with 7,602 votes. Over the weekend, the unofficial results had Baker winning by 11 votes.

“If you recall at the close of Saturday night, at the close of the regular ballot count, I was leading. And something happened between 2 o’clock in the morning and 7 o’clock the next morning. I was trailing,” Smith said.