Unofficial results from the Essex County Board of Elections counted 492 ballots in the race. Daly won 290 votes, about 59% of the vote count, and Hough won 258, about 52%. Hall and Smith trailed them with 219 and 183 votes, or 44% and 37%, respectively. These numbers are not final; they include Election Day votes, early votes and some absentee ballots. There are still about 16 unreturned absentee ballots — not enough to sway the results.

Daly, 59, is a retired attorney who currently sits on the town council and ran on the Democratic and independent Daly for Keene party lines. He was appointed to the council in October 2022 to fill the unexpired term of Jennifer Gregory Whitney. He said in a candidate questionnaire in the News last month that he was seeking office because he has “an extensive record of service.” One of his campaign priorities was the upkeep of town properties such as the community center, playing fields, transfer station and Marcy Field. Daly also advocated for the introduction and adoption of the proposed draft short-term vacation rental law that has taken shape over the past year and said that he wanted to continue addressing the affordable workforce housing shortage in town.

Hough is a designer for the Adirondack Mountain Club who has lived in Keene for more than 30 years. She ran on the Democratic and independent Citizen’s party lines. She previously served as the chair of the Keene Central School Parent-Teacher Committee for 10 years. In her questionnaire, she said that her goal as a town council member would be to “listen to the residents, help make choices that keep residents in their homes, grow our economy, maintain a sense of community and support our natural resources.” She also said that affordable housing is one of the greatest challenges facing Keene today, alongside moving toward renewable resources and retaining residents.

None of the four candidates could be reached for comment Tuesday night.