TROY — Winning more than 75 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s special election, Republican Warren Davidson will head to Washington D.C. to finish out the remainder of former Rep. John Boehner’s term in Congress.

A special election was held to fill the vacancy created when Boehner unexpectedly announced his resignation last fall. There were no other races on the ballot.

Davidson, an Army veteran and Troy businessman and 1989 graduate of Sidney High School, won about 77 percent of the vote. He is the first Miami County resident to represent the district and the first new representative since Boehner took office in 1991.

Davidson thanked the voters for the opportunity to serve, adding that he is eager to “get out there” and get to work on legislation.

“I look at this as returning to active duty,” the former Army Ranger said. He could be sworn in to office as early as Thursday, he added.

Democratic candidate Corey Foister received about 21 percent of the vote, while Green Party candidate James J. Condit Jr. received about 3 percent.

Wisconsin 1st District Congressman and Speaker Paul Ryan congratulated Davidson on his win and welcomed him as the newest member of Congress.

“I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in saying: Welcome Warren, we look forward to working with you to get our country back-on-track,” Ryan said in a statement.

Davidson and Foister will appear on the ballot again in November, running for a full term in the next Congress. Condit was disqualified from running as a Green Party candidate in the general election for casting a Republican ballot in the March primary.

Ohio’s 8th Congressional District includes all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami and Preble counties and the southernmost portion of Mercer County.

On Tuesday morning, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted visited the St. John the Baptist voting precinct in Tipp City to thank poll workers for their community service and to encourage voter engagement. Husted made several stops throughout the 8th District, including an early morning visit to a polling place in Cincinnati.

“A lot of people don’t seem to know there’s an election today,” Husted said, adding that voters would be electing the first new representative for the district in nearly 25 years. “It’s been a long time since people voted on a new representative. Rep. Boehner served for a long time.”

At the voting location, Husted made a point to thank the longest-serving poll worker at the precinct, Marilyn Moore.

Moore, who said her mother also used to work at the polls, said that recognition was “very nice.”

This election also gave poll workers an opportunity to get familiar with the county’s new electronic poll book tablets. According to the workers at the St. John the Baptist voting location, the tablets are a welcome change.

“We’re excited about the roll out of the new tablets,” Moore said.

Poll worker Lynn Hinkle agreed, saying that the tablets should make the voting process easier in November’s general election.