KNIGHTDALE - The sense of relief was unmistakable in Mayor Russell Killen's voice Tuesday upon his victory against challenger Jun Lee, who Killen admits "out-worked" him on the campaign trail.

"I'm just glad it's over," Killen said by phone as he celebrated at a local restaurant.

The incumbent prevailed with 924 votes to Lee's 746 votes - 55 percent to 44 percent - in perhaps the town's most hotly contested and highly publicized mayoral race.

Only 1,674 people of Knightdale's 11,000 population took to the polls for the nonpartisan race.

Lee, the owner and operator of Black Belt World, a Knightdale tae kwon-do studio, raised $23,000 in campaign contributions to Killen's $13,000, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Much of that money paid for Lee's election staff, which included a campaign manager and consultant. Both candidates paid supporters for making phone calls and distributing fliers, but Killen, a Raleigh construction and development attorney, didn't hire strategists.

The martial arts master boasted of his door-to-door efforts, telling a reporter on election day that he had visited nearly every Knightdale home.

"I talked to maybe 4,000 people (going door-to-door) ... and I think, from what I can tell, I am winning," Lee said on Tuesday as he stood outside the polls at Hodge Road Elementary.

In the weeks leading up to the election, however, Lee faced questions about past legal quarrels with his bank; was sued by a former campaign staffer and was investigated by the Wake County Board of Elections after 21 absentee ballots were mailed to Lee's business.

The board cleared him the night before the election.

On Wednesday, Lee pointed to news coverage in the Eastern Wake News as the main cause of his defeat.

"Do you know how many phone calls I had to make to clarify and explain the stories to my supporters?" Lee said. "The articles had a huge impact on my loss ... those who supported me throughout: I felt they were losing confidence in me."

Killen, meanwhile, says the successes the town enjoyed during his first term as mayor propelled him to a win.

"One of the things that came up again and again (on the campaign trail) is that this town council has a vision for Knightdale, and voters are happy about how this town is being run," Killen said.

"(Lee) never presented a clear vision for the town," Killen said. "I think people realized that he has no experience whatsoever, and he doesn't have the relationships that I do to get things done for the town."