ATLANTA -- For Georgia's 7th Congressional District incumbent, Republican Rob Woodall, his race against Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux is a tale of two counties.
The 7th District, which covers parts of Forsyth and Gwinnett counties, still doesn't have a clear winner. Since Goodall took office in 2011, the district, northeast of Atlanta, has changed --with more minority residents living in the area.
Last year, Gwinnett County became the first in the state required to have bilingual ballots because of the high percentage of Spanish-speaking residents. The 7th district is one metro Atlanta district that has been considered safe for the GOP for a long time. The district has been under Republican control since 1995.
In Forsyth, Woodall grabbed nearly 68 percent of the over 66,000 votes. Only 90 provisional ballots are left to be reviewed.
Gwinnett County, however, is a different story. Over 210,000 ballots have been cast there, with Bourdeaux edging out Woodall 55 to 45 percent.
Today, election workers in Gwinnett County counted approximately 19,000 absentee ballots, according to Gwinnett's Elections Director.
The 18-inch long, 2-page, double-sided and triple-folded ballots took longer to count than previous absentee ballots. High voter response added to the delay.
Bourdeaux, who trailed by nearly 3,000 votes Wednesday morning, now only trails Woodall by 890 votes.
In Gwinnett, there are also 2,400 provisional ballots to be counted. Historically, around 90 percent of the county's provisional ballots are accepted, according to the Gwinnett Elections Director.
This election is unfamiliar territory for Woodall, who has represented the 7th District for four terms. It's his closest race ever, after beating every previous opponent by at least 20 percentage points.
Both Woodall and Bourdeaux are watching the vote totals, representatives from both camps told 11Alive. Until the totals from Gwinnett County are finalized, the candidates said they will not do any interviews.
Provisional ballots wil be reviewed tomorrow and Friday and results could be finalized by Tuesday.
If the candidates are still within one percentage point, the race could be headed to a recount.
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Who is Rob Woodall?
Woodall was elected to Congress in 2010. Before becoming a Congressman, he served as a staffer for then-Congressman John Linder.
Woodall also serves on the House Committee on Rules, the House Budget Committee, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Woodall is a Georgia native.
Who is Carolyn Bourdeaux?
Bourdeaux grew up in Virginia and moved to Georgia with her husband. She started her career as an aide for Senator Ron Wyden.
She's been a professor at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy since 2003. For a few years during her time there, she took a leave of absence to be a director at Georgia's Senate and Budget and Evalutation Office.
