It was one of the ugliest races in Dona Ana County during the campaign when it came to attack ads, and one of the tightest during election night, but in the end the fight for the Dona Ana County district attorney job went to Democrat Mark D'Antonio.

"They voted for change," D'Antonio said. "Something new. Some new blood."

D'Antonio received almost 53 percent of the vote Tuesday night, which comes out to around just 3,800 more votes than Republican incumbent Amy Orlando who brought in 47 percent. Orlando was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez.

D'Antonio is a former federal prosecutor and a former FBI agent.

D'Antonio told KFOX14 this campaign did get ugly, with both sides launching attack ads on the other.

"Both parties did what they needed to do to try and get their message out," D'Antonio said.

D'Antonio said he will evaluate the current staff in the district attorney's office and will then decide if changes will be made internally.

He said his main priority includes making law enforcement more pro-active and getting the district attorney's office up to speed with its cases.

"The first thing I'm going to do is clear out the backlog," D'Antonio said. "We're backlogged with cases from five years ago. We're going to get rid of all those in a prompt and fair manner."

D'Antonio said Orlando has agreed to help him have a smooth transition into his new office and called him to congratulate him.