The El Paso County Commissioner's Precinct 3 seat, which was vacated because of a federal drug-trafficking scandal, will have a

Democratic nominee by Tuesday night.

People who live in El Paso's Lower Valley have complained to KFOX14 News in the past about having poor representation for years.

The El Paso elections office said voter turnout Tuesday was steady and moderate.

KFOX caught up with both Precinct 3 candidates, Chente Quintanilla and Vincent Perez, about three hours before polls closed.

Quintanilla was a Texas state representative for District 75. He held that seat since 2003. Quintanilla has a history in education and lists economic infrastructure and development as his priority.

Perez was the former communications director for U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes. Perez said he wants to promote hard-working, effective, efficient and ethical government.

The seat was vacated by Willie Gandara Jr., who resigned after being arrested on federal drug-trafficking charges in February.

"If folks are tired of what they've seen in the news, if they're tired of the corruption that they've seen and if they're tired of the images of the former commissioner arrested for federal drug-trafficking charges, then this is the time to do something about it," Perez said.

"I've showed them that I want to do the things that we need to do in the county," Quintanilla said. "It's a forgotten area of the county and I think that's why the numbers are coming in big outside of the city limits, because people know that they've been forgotten."

Whoever wins Tuesday's runoff will face unopposed Republican candidate Fred Chavez in November.

The polls close at 7 p.m. and that's also when early voting numbers come in.

KFOX14 News will have a live report on KFOX14 News at 9.

If you have a story that you feel deserves media attention, contact Ric Dupont at ric.dupont@kfoxtv.com.