Democrat David Gill conceded the District 13 congressional race Friday evening to Republican Rodney Davis.

“It has become clear to me, based on the numbers I’ve seen, that there are simply not enough uncounted ballots remaining to wipe out the current 1,287-vote deficit I face in this election,” Gill said.

Gill received 135,309 votes, Davis accumulated 136,596 votes and independent John Hartman received 21,241 votes. Even though the race was called Tuesday, Gill said he believed Davis’ 1-percent lead made it too close for him to concede. In a news release, Gill said the race in Macon County was one of the closest in the country.

“The closeness of this race, less than one half percentage point, demanded that we diligently check the numbers,” Gill said in the release.

The Davis campaign issued a release later that evening with the Republican’s positive response.

“I would like to thank David Gill for the passion with which he campaigned,” Davis said in a press release Friday. “I appreciate his concession this evening.”

Gill said the competitiveness of the race proved promising for the Democratic Party.

“The incredibly close outcome of this congressional election, along with the re-election of President Obama and a Democratic Senate, have proven that knee-jerk conservative policies will not succeed in this country nor be accepted by most of the people in this district,” Gill said. “It will require compromise and common-sense solutions to govern this nation and to serve this region.”

Gill also said he hopes to see Davis carry out some of the values advocated throughout his campaign, including providing a better future for the communities of the district and improving the state of the region for future generations.

“I hope Mr. Davis will seek ways to compromise and support the president so we can see real progress for middle class families,” Gill said.

Chrissy can be reached at [email protected]. The Associated Press contributed to this report.