Republican Rex Reynolds, a former Huntsville police chief and city administrator, is now the Rocket City's newest state lawmaker.

At least for now.

Reynolds narrowly defeated Democrat Terry Jones in a special election Tuesday to win the District 21 seat in the state House of Representatives formally held by Jim Patterson, who died suddenly following a heart attack Oct. 2, 2017.

Reynolds' election comes just as the 2018 legislative session is expected to end on Wednesday.

Reynolds took the oath of office, administered by Madison County District Judge Linda Coats, at 8:23 p.m. -- just over an hour after polls closed.

Filling out the remainder of Patterson's term will be brief, too. Reynolds won the election less than eight months before he will face Jones on the ballot again in November as part of the regular legislative election cycle.

"I'm relieved," Reynolds said. "It was certainly a very close race. The community has spoken. Now I'll go to Montgomery and represent both those who voted for me as well as those who voted against me."

According to unofficial results Tuesday night, Reynolds edged Jones by 307 votes -- winning 53 percent of the 4,457 votes that were cast. Only about 12 percent of District 21's 36,637 registered voters cast a ballot.

"When I saw the lack of the numbers we had in the turnout today, I knew it was going to be close," Reynolds said.

Reynolds said he and his wife, Mary, would travel to Montgomery early Wednesday morning for the certification of the election results by Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. Then, he'll see what's happening with the state House of Representatives.

"We'll head down there bright and early and be stage ready," Reynolds said. "If they go into session and they get the vote certified and I'm asked to take the floor, I'll take the floor."

The District 21 seat won by Reynolds includes downtown Huntsville and extends north in Madison County to the Tennessee state line.

Although District 21 covers only a portion of Madison County, Reynolds' victory comes in a county that voted for Democrat Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate special election in December. While Jones won the Senate seat by two points over Roy Moore, Madison County voters supported Jones with 57 percent of the vote.

Unless Gov. Kay Ivey calls an unexpected special legislative session later this year, Reynolds and Terry Jones must face off at the ballot box again in November before either of them casts a vote as a legislator.

Terry Jones, a retired high school teacher and coach, lost to Patterson in 2014 in the race for the District 21 seat. Patterson received 67 percent of the votes.