STEUBENVILLE — For the first time in 20 years, Jefferson County will start the year without a Corrigan in the clerk of courts office.

Republican newcomer Andrew Plesich easily outpaced his opponent, Democrat Darrin Corrigan, to claim victory.

Unofficially, Plesich scored 19,427 votes to 11,984 for Corrigan in the Jefferson County race.

“I’m very excited,” Plesich said. “I just want to give thanks and praise to the Lord. He surrounded me with so many great people to make this happen. It feels amazing for me and my family.”

Plesich credits his win to a lot of hard work, “and I also think the ‘red wave.’

“Those two factors made the difference,” he said.

“Obviously, there’s a learning curve with any new job,” he said. “My first order of business will be to get to know my staff and their abilities, make sure they’re in the right place for the office to be successful.”

He said the campaign trail was “definitely more difficult than I expected.”

“Going into it, I knew it would be extremely difficult,” he said. “And I knew I had tough competition.

“I think the amount of work, the amount of sacrifice required to accomplish something like this scares off a lot of good candidates,” he said. “It was a lot for me to think about before I decided to go all in, running for this position, but I have no regrets. I knew it would be difficult, I’m just really excited with the result right now.”

Corrigan said he was disappointed, “but I’m happy to see people came out and voted.”

“I want to congratulate my opponent, I wish him all the luck,” he said.

“And I want to thank the people who voted for me, my family and my friends for their support and sticking with me.”

Corrigan’s father, John, has held the office for the past two decades but decided to retire, leaving the seat up for grabs.