AUBURN - Jon Budelmann will be Cayuga County's next district attorney.

Budelmann, the Republican and Conservative candidate, received 10,479 votes in Tuesday's election. Democrat Michael Bass, who was also endorsed by the Independence and Working Families parties, received 7,409 votes.

Absentee ballots still have to be counted, but Budelmann has a large enough lead to assure him the position.

Budelmann will be the county's first new DA since James Vargason was elected in 1992.

Bass ran for the office in 2003 and was defeated by Vargason, who decided not to run for a fifth term.

Budelmann waited for the results Tuesday night with other Republican candidates at the Ukrainian National Club in Auburn.

Just before 10 p.m., he received a call from Bass, who conceded the race and congratulated him.

“I am very pleased and humbled by all the support from the community,” said Budelmann, who is currently chief assistant District Attorney under Vargason. “This has been a very rewarding campaign.”

The election capped off a hotly-contested race between Budelmann and Bass, a local defense attorney who briefly worked in the Cayuga County DA's office and also served as St. Lawrence County's public defender. Budelmann spent almost twice as much on his campaign than Bass, shelling out more than $67,000 while Bass spent almost $35,000, according to state campaign finance records.

Budelmann claimed throughout his campaign that his years of prosecution experience made him more qualified to be DA. Bass' campaign focused primarily on bringing change to the office.

Both candidates maintained throughout the race to have superior trial records, specifically against one another.

After conceding the race, Bass appeared disappointed.

“It looks like we are going to come up short,” Bass told the crowd at the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, where he awaited the results.

Bass often linked Budelmann to Vargason during his campaign, criticizing the office of the DA for an increased budget, decreased felony prosecutions and mishandling the case of Roy Brown, who had his murder conviction overturned after new DNA testing pointed to another suspect.

Brown received two write-in votes in the election. Dale Clark received one.

Budelmann also received criticism from Bass and others for a commercial in which a crime victim thanks Budelmann for putting his attacker behind bars while identifying Bass as the assailant's defense attorney.

Bass would not guess Tuesday night whether or not his campaign strategies contributed to his loss.

“It is hard to say which way it went,” Bass said.

Budelmann said Tuesday that he believed the biggest issue on the voters' minds was experience.

“I think the individuals in the county are happy with the way the district attorney's office is run,” Budelmann said. “They have confidence that I will continue with the good aspects while putting my own vision for the office into place.”

Budelmann will be sworn in as the new district attorney Jan. 1.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net. Staff writer Kathy Barran contributed to this report.