The 10th District congressional election did not yield a decision about who will represent the district.

Republican Jim Whitehead failed to receive the majority vote he needed to secure his seat in Congress and avoid a runoff election.

Whitehead – who received 44 percent of the vote – will face Paul Broun, a Republican from Athens, who secured about 21 percent of the vote. He nudged past Democrat James Marlow with a margin of 0.3 percent – fewer than 200 votes.

With a margin of less than one percent separating him from entering into the runoff, Marlow retained the right to call for a recount of the votes. But he conceded Wednesday evening. He sent an e-mail to supporters thanking them.

Whitehead, a former state Senator and chair of the Senate Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee, also hails from the University.

His campaign platform promises to end illegal immigration and increase the value and quality of education for children.

Whitehead also has specific goals for the district, according to John Stone, a spokesperson for the campaign. He supports the introduction of the Brain Train, a train that would link universities from Athens to Atlanta, Stone said.

Whitehead believes that elected officials must provide unity, according to Stone.

“We need someone that can deal effectively with that,” Stone said.

Before Whitehead can begin to put these goals into effect, however, he must defeat Broun in the runoff election on July 17.

“The massive issue is voter turnout,” Stone said of the next election.

Whitehead’s organization plans to continue campaigning.

“We’re doing more of what we’ve done this time,” Stone said.

Broun, an Athens native and University alumnus, is the son of the late Paul Broun, who served 38 years in the Georgia General Assembly.

Broun’s grassroots campaign strategy helped him to secure a majority vote in Oconee, Oglethorpe, Jackson and Morgan counties, according to Joshua Evans, the Broun campaign manager.

Broun, a local physician, lacks the years of political experience that Whitehead boasts. But his campaign manager said it does not take experience to know how to effectively lead others, Evans said.

“If you want someone to listen to the people and what they want, then he is it.”

After narrowing down the large field of candidates Tuesday, voters will make a final decision July 17.