LOCKPORT — Who’ll be Michael Pillot’s Republican opponent in the mayor’s race?

It’s up in the air after an unexpectedly strong primary election showing by Mayor Mike Tucker’s GOP opponent, former alderwoman Phyllis Green.

In live polling, Tucker was ahead of Green by only two votes late Tuesday. Over 100 absentee ballots were cast, but these haven’t been counted yet.

Recanvassing — recounting of all votes cast — won’t take place for at least a week, according to Mary Ann Casamento, Republican county election commissioner.

Tucker was uncharacteristically subdued in a late Tuesday phone interview about the results. Four hundred ninety nine Republicans voted for him and 497 for Green, for a 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent split.

“It’s not the result I expected, totally, but you never know about these things,” Tucker said.

“People didn’t come out to the polls in big numbers, and I read that as a sign people weren’t too upset about garbage, which is all (Green) talked about. I don’t know if it comes down to that one issue,” he said, “but by the vote it looks like the city is split. Is it? I don’t know.”

Results were clearer in the GOP primary for 1st Ward alderman. Challenger Shirley Nicholas, 74, bested 33-year-old incumbent alderman RIchelle Pasceri by a vote of 105 to 75, or 58 percent. With only 24 absentee ballots out, Nichols’ victory is decisive.

A stunned Pasceri learned of the loss by a text message from her husband while she was working her waitressing job at Danny Sheehan’s Steakhouse shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The loss is all about the new, privately based refuse and recycling plan that Pasceri helped create for the city, she said.

“What can you do? The people spoke, and I think they hate (the refuse plan). I’ve owned it, I’ve worn it, since day one, that’s what it is,” she said.

Nicholas, who was spurred to run for local office by issues surrounding the contaminated Flintkote industrial parcel across Mill Street from her home, could not be reached to comment on her victory Tuesday. She’ll have the Republican line in the November election, while Pasceri has two minor-party lines, Independence and Conservative. There is no Democratic candidate in the race.

In the Democratic mayoral primary election, Pillot, a retired city police officer, scored the biggest win of the night when he defeated Jack Smith Jr., 2nd Ward alderman, by a 56 percent-to-44 percent margin. Pillot received 302 votes from his fellow Democrats compared with Smith’s 236 votes.

“I’m very happy and very grateful to the people who went out and voted for me,” Pillot said. “People know I’m sincere and that I really want to do the best for our city. They know I’m running to help them, not for money or power, just to help the residents.”

Smith could not be reached to comment on the election result late Tuesday.

The Smith campaign pursued write-in blanks on two minor party lines, Independence and Conservative, whose executive committees endorsed Tucker.

Write-ins won’t be counted until recanvassing, the Board of Elections’ Casamento said, so these challenges are up in the air too. Tucker received 51 votes from Independence voters and 23 votes from Conservative voters; Smith can only take the lines if more than those numbers went out and wrote his name on their ballots.

Tucker faces another primary challenge by Green, who hopes to wrest the Working Families line from him in addition to the GOP line. Eight party members cast ballots for Tucker in that race. Green was a write-in candidate on that line.

Green predicted “the lawyers are gonna get involved” in the GOP primary, given the closeness of the live vote.

“I have no regrets. I’m very proud of the campaign we ran. We worked very hard ... and gave people the opportunity to have their say, have somebody else to vote for,” she said. “I think the mayor thought he’d get a free ride (from Republicans) — and he didn’t.”

In other races:

• Incumbent 5th Ward Alderman Ken Genewick handily defeated his GOP primary challenger, Bret Pabon of Juniper Street, by a vote count of 161 to 79, or 67 percent of the vote.

Genewick and Pabon will meet again in November since Pabon has the Democratic line in the general election.

• Incumbent county Legislator William Keith McNall fended off a GOP line challenge from Andy Chapman, 4th Ward Alderman, taking 53 percent of the vote. McNall will have four ballot lines in the general election to Chapman’s one, the Democratic line.

McNall said he read the GOP result as a show of “confidence and continued trust in me” by legislative district voters.

“I will continue working hard for Lockport residents’ best interests and I look forward to a very spirited general election campaign,” he said.

Chapman could not be reached to comment on the primary results late Tuesday.