Perry made the acknowledgement in a post on Facebook on Thursday.

“With the final votes counted, the results of the election are clear,” Perry’s post read. “While we came just a few points short at 49%, I am incredibly proud of the race we ran and the conversations we started.

“First and foremost, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported this campaign. Whether you contributed financially, provided in-kind donations, hosted a sign in your yard, or dedicated hundreds of hours of your valuable time to knock on doors, make calls, and spread our message–I am deeply humbled by your dedication.

“To my wife, Mary–thank you. No one sees the true sacrifice of a campaign more than a candidate’s spouse. Your grace, support, and patience throughout this journey meant everything to me, and I could not have done this without you by my side–including the night you stepped up to deliver a speech for me when I couldn’t be there.

“One of the greatest blessings of this journey was the opportunity it gave me to get out into our neighborhoods, meet so many of you face-to-face, and build meaningful new relationships across the community. Listening to your stories and sharing your vision for our county’s future was truly the highlight of this campaign.

“I also want to congratulate my opponent on his victory. Running for office takes tremendous effort, and earning 51% of the vote is a significant achievement. As a resident of this county and someone who has dedicated 16 years of my career to the Sheriff’s Office, the safety, unity, and success of our community remain my highest priorities.

“For our county to thrive, we must move forward together. I offer my full support to our next Sheriff and sincerely wish him the very best of success as he takes on this critical leadership role.

“Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for standing with me.”

Atkin told the Standard-Examiner on Thursday the result feels too good to be true.

“It’s still becoming more and more real,” he said. “Now we’ve got to be able to do some good planning and some good collaboration among individuals to get some improvement going.”

He said he’s received about 250 text messages with many coming from employees from the office.

“I’m excited and I really do feel like we’re going to get some good things done,” he said.

There was no update in the voting totals from Davis County on Thursday, but as of Wednesday’s update at 4:12 p.m., Atkin led 51.05% (21,546 votes) to 48.95% (20,662 votes).

Atkin surged after the initial release of votes Tuesday night. He trailed 50.21% (17,447 votes) to 49.79% (17,301 votes) after the first release but leads 56.90% to 43.10% in all the ballots counted since, which includes 7,460 votes.

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.