When all was said and done in Tuesday’s primary election, Lancaster County Election Commissioner David Shively was forced to concede defeat.

And he was happy to do it.

“Voters did prove me wrong today,” he said, referring to the county’s higher-than-expected voter turnout.

More than 26 percent of registered Lancaster County voters showed up at the polls Tuesday.

Shively noted that a hotly contested Senate race led to a higher countywide turnout than the 23 percent he expected before Tuesday.

Sunny skies and summer-like temperatures didn’t hurt either.

“It was a beautiful day for an election,” Shively said.

The turnout figure was slightly above those of the 2008 and 2004 presidential primaries, when 26.12 and 25.84 percent of Lancaster County voters went to the polls.

Shively said this year's numbers fell far short of those from 2010, when Lincoln voters approved plans to build what would come to be known as Pinnacle Bank Arena.

“I’m happy that it’s higher than I was anticipating,” he said. “Do I wish it would be even higher? Certainly.”