POCATELLO — As the hour grew later with most local ballots still uncounted Tuesday night, Chris Abernathy couldn’t handle the suspense any longer and decided to leave his election party and go to bed.

The Pocatello Democrat realized he’d unseated the incumbent in District 29-A, Rep. Dustin Whitney Manwaring, R-Pocatello, when he glanced at his cell phone at about 7 a.m. while heading to work.

Supporters had expressed their congratulations via dozens of text messages, voicemails and emails. Abernathy — an electrician and executive board member with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 449 — won a tight race, receiving 7,353 votes, or 51.17 percent of the total votes cast, compared with 7,016 votes, or 48.83 percent of votes, for Manwaring.

“I want to represent the people who go to work every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and make a living for their families and hopefully have a comfortable living,” Abernathy said.

Abernathy, a 51-year-old political newcomer, said he was motivated to run after watching television coverage of legislative sessions in which lawmakers too often “swept (issues) under the rug in the voting process.” He said he’s pleased by the outcome of a voter initiative that has succeeded in expanding Medicaid in Idaho. But he’d like to play a role in increasing the state’s minimum wage.

“Minimum wage is just not a livable wage,” Abernathy said.

He said he’ll also work on improving teacher pay and making funding for education more of a state priority. Abernathy has a daughter, Gabrielle, who is studying the health professions at Idaho State University. His brother, Mike Green, is a teacher in Wendell.

Abernathy, who is the son of a retired Teamster, believes the state should place a special emphasis on educating students for future careers in the trades.

“As we head toward the future, we’re going to be out of people who are qualified to actually build stuff,” Abernathy said.

Abernathy believes campaign contributions from organized labor enabled him to run a successful campaign. Nonetheless, Manwaring, who is a local attorney, built a far superior campaign war chest, reporting $31,591 in contributions through Oct. 21, compared with $11,028 for Abernathay.

“To work 40 hours a week and try to campaign in the last six months as hard as we did, it was rough. I’m running thin,” Abernathy said.

He’d heard he was leading in election polling prior to the vote, but he admits he was preparing himself for a loss and contemplating whether or not he’d ever consider a return to politics. Instead, he’ll have to decide which committees to join and which bills to champion.

His win came as no surprise to the chairman of Idaho’s Democratic Party, Bert Marley. Marley said Manwaring’s seat had been held by Pocatello Democrat Mark Nye, who gave up the position to run for Senate. Marley said electing Abernathy and retaining Sen. Nye and Rep. Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello, in District 29 was a top priority for his party. Idaho Democrats gained four legislative seats Tuesday.

“(Abernathy) is really down to earth,” Marley said. “I think he fits that district really well. He’s a working guy — an electrician. He’s polite. He’s got a steep learning curve, but he’s got good mentors.”

While in office, Manwaring introduced legislation that would have required Idaho elected officials to disclose personal finance information to avoid potential conflicts of interest. He’d hoped to reintroduce the legislation in the upcoming session. Manwaring, 37, also campaigned on making health care more affordable for Idahoans.