“There have been some contentious moments in this election, but we have a result that speaks to the opportunity to unify the Cherokee people,” Hoskin said. “I want to keep the focus on the progress we’ve made and I think (deputy chief-elect) Bryan Warner and I can do that. I want to be everyone’s chief.”

On Sunday afternoon, Lay said he was proud of winning precincts not only close to home in Washington and Nowata counties, but also in areas where he did not have strong name recognition previously, including Cherokee and Adair counties.

The Ochelata native confirmed that he met with Walkingstick Saturday night and shook hands over the unofficial results, but had not had a chance to follow suit with Hoskin yet.

“I met a lot of great people and made some great friends,” he said. “This is a positive. I’m not looking at this as a negative. This was an opportunity. I took it, I tried it and it didn’t work out.”

Warner, the Tribal Council representative for eastern Sequoyah County, defeated former Tribal Council speaker and current Mayes County Commissioner Meredith Frailey for the deputy chief position. Warner received 7,940 votes, or 59.27%, while Frailey received 5,457 votes, or 40.73%.