Democrats may have scored a major upset Tuesday, as it seems they have unseated the two Republican incumbents to win open three-year seats on the Burlington County Board of Freeholders.

About 11:15 p.m. at Carlucci's Waterfront Restaurant in Mount Laurel, where they were gathered as returns came in, Democrats Tom Pullion, of Edgewater Park, and Balvir Singh, of Burlington Township, declared victory in the closely contested race.

According to the unofficial results, Pullion received 61,031 votes, followed by Singh with 57,801. Republicans Bruce Garganio and Linda Hughes received 55,492 and 55,349, respectively.

Although the Democrats declared victory late Tuesday night, the Republicans did not concede.

"It's nice to celebrate, but we've got work to do," Pullion said as the small crowd that remained at the late hour cheered.

"Next year, we're going for the fight," Singh said, referring to the Democratic push to take control of the five-member board in the 2018 midterms, which are expected to be hotly contested nationwide.

Garganio, who is the freeholder director, and Hughes offered no comments at GOP headquarters in Mount Holly. They remained upstairs and did not come down after most volunteers and party workers had left.

Party control was not at stake Tuesday, as all five seats are held by Republicans. However, the election was still significant because the Democrats were aiming to restore their presence in county government and push to gain control in 2018.

The last time Democrats had a slight grip on county government was when Joanne Schwartz and Aimee Belgard served for three years before being ousted by Republicans Ryan Peters and Kate Gibbs in 2015.

The Republicans have had a stronghold on the board for decades, only losing seats in 2008 and 2012 on President Barack Obama's coattails. In 2015, Peters and Gibbs unseated Belgard and Schawtz in a non-presidential election year. Belgard is now a Superior Court judge.

In 2014, the GOP maintained its long-held control, with Garganio and running mate Mary Ann O’Brien sweeping the election. O'Brien left after she was elected last year county surrogate and sworn in in January. Hughes was appointed to fill the last year of her term.

Garganio and O’Brien were elected in 2009 and defeated by Belgard and Schwartz in 2012. Garganio reclaimed his seat by appointment in 2014, when Leah Arter stepped down to take a position with Burlington County College, and was re-elected that November to a three-year term.

The major issues in this year's campaign were the economy, attracting business to the county, and taxes. Garganio and Hughes had vowed to maintain or lower taxes and attract more businesses to be able to offset the tax burden on residents.

The Democrats were critical of what they claimed was too much reliance on bringing warehouses, like Amazon in Florence, to the county. Their slate pledged to attract a skilled, well-paid workforce.

They also campaigned to increase punishment for drug offenses to help reduce the number of opioid overdoses, and proposed establishing partnerships between businesses and educational institutions.

The Republicans' platform included a call for more input from businesses to shape the curriculum at Rowan College of Burlington County and the Burlington County Institute of Technology so graduates can secure jobs upon graduation.

Hughes, who leads the county's drug addiction task force, said she intended to continue the dialogue to reduce the stigma associated with drug addiction, and increase the focus on counseling to help those who are addicted.

Pullion lost in the 2014 race for a spot on freeholder board. He twice was mayor of Edgewater Park twice, and served on the school board for five years. He works for the IT company CDW.

Singh teaches at Burlington City High School and is a member of the Burlington Township Board of Education.

A lifelong resident of Florence, Garganio has been a freeholder for nearly eight years. He also was a councilman in Florence for 12 years, two as president.

Hughes, of Evesham, is a health care communications professional and serves as a senior communications associate for BAYADA Home Health Care.