Incumbent J.W. Pirtle narrowly emerged from a tight District 1 Champaign City Council primary on Tuesday to join winner Gina Jackson in the general election in April.

Jackson, the only candidate listed on the ballot, had 147 votes, according to unofficial totals. Pirtle had 24 write-in votes to Dwayne Hubbard’s 21. The top two finishers will appear on the general election ballot in April.

Pirtle said he was happy and relieved by the primary results.

“Write-in campaigns are very hard and Dwayne did a good job giving me a run for my money,” Pirtle said.

Hubbard was in good spirits despite his narrow loss and said he would be happy no matter who won the general election.

“We all share a lot of the same views, so at least I didn’t lose to someone who opposed what I was working for,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard’s attorney, Susan McGrath, said she would examine which write-in votes were allowed by election judges.

“So many things can go wrong with a write-in vote and a lot of it is up to the judges,” McGrath said. “Because it was that close, it’s worth looking at what was allowed and what wasn’t.”

In the other Champaign primary, incumbent Vic McIntosh defeated Matt Varble with 77 percent of the vote. Both candidates, who each waged write-in campaigns, will move on to the general election, but McIntosh said he was very happy with the results.

“It makes me feel really good to be able to pull people out to do an unconventional write-in vote,” McIntosh said. “Tomorrow morning I’ll go out and start campaigning again.”

McIntosh had heavy support in several areas, including a 71 to 4 vote edge in his home precinct, but Varble said he was satisfied with the results and expected to make up ground by April.

“A couple precincts made up a bulk of what (McIntosh) got, and that shows me where I need to work” Varble said. “He had the machine and people in office working for him. Now it’ll be more sharply focused on issues and I’ll be on the ballot, so that will help me a lot.”

McIntosh credited his time on the council and the support of the neighborhoods around him with making the difference in the election.

“A write-in ballot is very hard, but I’m an incumbent, so I had that going for me,” he said. “I attribute a lot of this to the neighborhood groups I work with, who really made an effort to come out and support me in a difficult campaign.”

Because both primaries revolved around write-in campaigns, the candidates agreed that the general election could easily have very different results. Pirtle said being on the ballot in the general election would help him make up the difference between himself and Jackson.

“Being a write-in candidate is a big disadvantage,” Pirtle said. “It’ll be an even field now and I feel like I have a great chance to win.”