The candidates for the state Senate's 19th District seat are in a deadlock, and representatives from both camps are saying it could be days before a winner is announced.

Democrat HannahBeth Jackson was ahead of Republican Tony Strickland by just 108 votes as of deadline, with tens of thousands more absentee and provisional ballots to be counted.

Jackson received 153,106 votes (51.1 percent), while Strickland is just behind with 152,998 votes (49.9 percent).

Sandra Sanchez of Jackson's camp said it's going to be several days until they know for sure.

"We are ahead but there are still a lot of outstanding ballots," Sanchez said. "People have been counting all night and they want to give them a break. Some more may be counted today, but it's going to be awhile—we're just waiting."

Strickland campaign manager Lindsay Roberts said election officials have 40,000 to 50,000 absentee ballots that still need to be counted.

"There's no way to predict the end right now," Roberts said.

Both candidates are waiting until the results are finalized before they'll comment.

The two office seekers were on opposite sides of the fence on most issues, and the race was hotly contested. The campaign was ripe with criticism from both camps.

As the precincts began reporting Tuesday evening, the two contenders were never more than 2 percent apart.

Representatives from the state elections office said the county offices hadn't informed them of how many provisional ballots to expect, but those won't be official until 35 days after the election.

Tom McClintock (RThousand Oaks) has held the state Senate seat for eight years after serving in the Assembly for more than a decade.

Strickland served as an aide for McClintock before launching his own political career.

McClintock is running for Congress' District 4 seat and was just 400 votes ahead of Democrat Charlie Brown as of Wednesday afternoon.

Strickland, 38, served three terms representing the 37th District in the state Assembly until 2004, when his wife won the seat. Audra Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks) had her own battle to wage; she was elected for the third time.

Santa Barbara resident Jackson, an attorney and former prosecutor, served in the state Assembly and represented the 35th District from 1998 to 2004.

The 19th District stretches from Port Hueneme and Camarillo to Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and the northwestern end of the San Fernando Valley.