The race for Arapahoe County coroner remained too close to call  with only 447 votes separating the candidates as of 11 a.m. on Nov. 3. A recount is likely, according to Clerk and Recorder Nancy Doty.

With nearly 148,000 votes counted, incumbent Democrat Michael Dobersen holds a narrow lead over Republican challenger Jay Ledbetter.

“I’m just kind of numb,” Dobersen said of the highly contentious race. “I’m so tired of this whole thing, but I have to keep waiting and see how things turn out.”

Ledbetter, who had aggressively criticized Dobersen during the campaign, says he is not sure why race remains the tightest one in Arapahoe County.

“It’s a squeaker, isn’t it?” he said. “I could Monday-morning-quarterback this thing 100 different ways. Voters make their decisions based on what they know. They look like they’re split pretty evenly.”

It has been an uncharacteristically contentious coroner’s race that touched on ethics, party affiliation and qualifications for the job.

Dobersen, a physician and forensic pathologist, is one of only four coroners in the state who is qualified to conduct autopsies.

Attorney Ledbetter has argued that an attorney would be better suited to manage the office. He also stressed his Republican party affiliation.

The race heated up last month when Dobersen filed complaints with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and the Attorney Regulation Council against Ledbetter.

Ledbetter literature had accused the sitting coroner of manipulating evidence at trial. Ledbetter later retracted the allegation and apologized to Dobersen in an e-mail.

Under Colorado law, it is a crime to knowingly or recklessly make false statements to affect an election.

There are no legal requirements for county coroners in Colorado so most of them appoint qualified medical examiners to conduct autopsies. Most home-rule counties simply appoint coroners. Statutory counties, like Arapahoe, are required to elect them in partisan races.