Vincent Orange appeared to win a special election to fill an at-large D.C. Council seat on Tuesday, besting eight other candidates in a race that was only tight for a few of them.

Approximately 43,000 D.C. voters cast ballots on Tuesday, about 13,000 more than were expected. Late Tuesday night, Orange had about 30 percent of the vote to apparently fill the seat vacated by Kwame Brown when he became council chairman. The race’s sole Republican candidate, Patrick Mara came in a close second with about 25 percent of the vote. Sekou Biddle, who defeated Orange in a Democratic State Committee Vote earlier this year, came in third with about 20 percent of the vote.