HUNTINGTON -- A strong showing in Huntington's Fairfield West neighborhood helped incumbent David Felinton squeak by Cabell County Commissioner Bob Bailey on Tuesday to secure the Democratic nomination for mayor.

According to unofficial returns in Cabell and Wayne counties, Felinton defeated Bailey by 179 votes to earn a showdown with Republican Kim Wolfe in the general election. The Cabell County Sheriff was unopposed in the GOP primary.

While Bailey won all of the precincts in the West End, Guyandotte and Altizer, Felinton had landslide victories in the three precincts in Fairfield West. In precinct 16 at the Marie Redd Senior Life Enrichment Center, for example, Felinton captured 65 percent of the votes among the four mayoral candidates. He defeated Bailey in that precinct by 132 votes.

Bailey supporters who were at the Cabell County Courthouse on Tuesday night as election results came in said they were hopeful he would overtake Felinton in the four city precincts in Wayne County. Felinton held a 182-vote lead after the 36 city precincts in Cabell County were tallied.

But the two-term mayor held his ground in Wayne County. Bailey only gained three votes in those precincts.

In the Cabell County sheriff's race, Democratic nominee Tom McComas dominated his four opponents in the eastern and southern ends of the county. McComas won all of the precincts in Barboursville, Salt Rock, Ona, Milton and Culloden. He will face Republican and Cabell County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jim Scheidler in the general election.

A similar scenario played out in the Cabell Circuit Court judge's race. Democratic nominee Jane Hustead captured all of the precincts in Huntington's West End and all but three precincts in Barboursville, Lesage, Salt Rock, Ona, Milton and Culloden. Her opponent, Paul Farrell, won 24 of the county's 72 precincts.

Hustead is unopposed in the general election.