NEW: GOP Takes Surprise Lead In Gubernatorial Race

Republicans pulled ahead in Guam's closely watched gubernatorial race early Wednesday, erasing a narrow Democratic advantage as additional precincts reported results in the U.S. territory's elections.

The Republican ticket of Ada-Calvo surged past Democratic opponents Therese Terlaje and Sabina Perez, taking a 2.5-percentage-point lead after trailing by just 80 votes earlier in the night.

According to the Guam Election Commission, the Republican team had received 10,179 votes, or 51.08%, compared with 9,682 votes, or 48.58%, for the Democrats as of approximately 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The numbers reflected results from 38 of Guam's 59 precincts, leaving the contest unresolved with 21 precincts still outstanding.

The shift represented a significant reversal from the first major batch of results released shortly before midnight.

At 11:54 p.m., Terlaje-Perez held a razor-thin advantage with 5,243 votes against 5,163 for Ada-Calvo.

At that point, only 21 precincts had been counted, giving Democrats a lead of less than one percentage point.

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But as additional ballots were processed, the Republican ticket overtook its Democratic rivals and expanded its advantage to nearly 500 votes.

The gubernatorial contest wasn't the only race experiencing a shift as election officials continued tallying ballots.

Republicans also moved ahead in the battle for Guam's 15-member Legislature, claiming eight of the top 15 positions in the unofficial standings.

Democrats had initially held eight of those spots before Republicans reversed the numbers during the overnight count.

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Democratic Sen. Chris Barnett remained the leading legislative candidate with 12,790 votes, followed by Democrat Amanda Shelton with 10,203.

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Republican Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane held third place with 9,095 votes, while fellow GOP Sens. Jesse Lujan and Chris Duenas followed with 8,879 and 8,806 votes, respectively.

Other Republicans positioned within the top 15 included Hoa Nguyen, Telo Taitague, Vince Borja, Shelly Calvo and Shawn Gumataotao.

The developing results suggested Republicans could gain ground in the Legislature, although the remaining precincts could still change the standings.

Meanwhile, Democrats maintained a narrow advantage in Guam's race for delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Democratic challenger Alicia Limtiaco led Republican incumbent Del. James Moylan with 10,016 votes, or 50.75%, compared with Moylan's 9,692 votes, or 49.11%.

However, Limtiaco's margin had tightened as the night progressed.

Earlier results showed the Democrat receiving 51.8% of the vote against Moylan's 48.06%, indicating that the Republican incumbent had narrowed the gap as additional ballots were counted.

The territory's attorney general race also remained competitive, with attorney Phillip Tydingco maintaining his lead over incumbent Attorney General Douglas Moylan.

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Tydingco received 7,412 votes, or 38.06%, while Moylan followed with 6,481 votes, or 33.28%.

Thomas Fisher held third place with 2,482 votes, followed by Peter Santos with 2,171 and Jordan Pauluhn with 913.

In the Consolidated Commission on Utilities contest, incumbent commissioners Simon Sanchez, Michael Limtiaco and Francis Santos occupied the three leading positions.

The election began with officials transporting ballot boxes to the University of Guam Calvo Field House shortly after polls closed Tuesday evening.

Guam Election Commission workers started processing ballots around 9:30 p.m., approximately one hour earlier than during the territory's primary election.

Commission Executive Director Maria Pangelinan said officials were focused on maintaining an orderly count but declined to estimate when final results would become available.

The early-morning Republican gains created a new dynamic in the governor's race after Democrats opened the count with a slim lead.

With more than one-third of precincts still uncounted, neither party had secured victory.

Nevertheless, the latest reported figures marked a notable turnaround for the GOP, with Ada-Calvo leading Terlaje-Perez by 497 votes and Republicans holding eight of the top 15 legislative positions as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.

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