SAVANNAH -- Georgia election officials say a recount has upheld state Rep. Lee Anderson as the winner of the Republican primary runoff in the state's 12th Congressional District.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp said the new vote tally conducted Wednesday gave the same result for the Aug. 21 runoff as the initial count certified a day earlier. Both showed that Anderson of Grovetown defeated Augusta businessman Rick W. Allen by just 159 votes.

Allen had asked for the recount Tuesday and it was granted automatically under state law. That's because Anderson's victory margin was less than 1 percent of the total 27,411 votes cast.

Anderson will face Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow in the fall campaign. The district covers 19 eastern Georgia counties including the cities of Augusta, Statesboro, Vidalia and Dublin.

The final tally showed that Anderson collected 13,785 votes, or 50.29 percent, compared to Allen's 13,626 votes, or 49.71 percent.