Surgeon Dan Benishek declared victory for a third time in the long process to determine a winner in the Republican primary in retiring Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak’s northern Michigan district.

Michigan’s state board of canvassers found Benishek ahead with a final tally of 27,077 votes to state Sen. Jason Allen’s 27,062 votes. The unofficial tally after the Tuesday primary showed Benishek just one vote ahead. State Rep. Gary McDowell was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

“I ask those who were waiting for this final certification to be performed to now unite and join our campaign against career politician Gary McDowell who has been a rubber stamp for Gov. [Jennifer] Granholm’s failed policies and who will take his lead from Nancy Pelosi in D.C.,” Benishek said in a release. “Our Republican opponents ran strong campaigns with great teams and I would be privileged to have their support in taking our message of ‘Enough is Enough’ to Washington.”

The state board asked the district’s 31 county election boards to accelerate their certification process in anticipation of requests for a recount, and they finished Thursday.

Allen’s campaign will have until Sunday morning to file a written, notarized request for a recount. It would have to allege mistakes or fraud and could ask for recounts in specific precincts or across the entire district. If Allen does file, Benishek would have another 48 hours to respond to the recount request.