Yusuf Salaam expressed neither surprise nor disappointment with Tuesday’s relatively light voter turnout in the Democratic primary race for state House of Representatives District 67.

“I knew a light turnout would benefit my campaign,” explained Salaam. “When you consider that the predominate African-American political forces in this community were not able to garner up but one-third of the vote, I feel great. I’ve seen the time they would have won outright.”

According to unofficial returns LaTosha Brown received 3,399 votes, or 33 percent, to 2,148 votes, or 21 percent, for Salaam. The Rev. Glenn King finished third with 1,959 votes, or 19 percent.

Brown and Salaam topped a crowded field of nine Democratic candidates. They now square off in a June 25 runoff.

Brown allowed herself to celebrate just the tiniest bit as election results poured in Tuesday night.

“It feels good,” said Brown. “Real good.”

As the frontrunner going into the upcoming runoff with Salaam, Brown could afford to be gracious toward her fellow candidates – and she availed herself of that opportunity.

“I thought everyone ran a clean race. I thought everyone ran a progressive race,” she said.

King agreed. “It was a good campaign from the start to the finish,” he said.

With nine candidates in the race and no clear leader going into the election, many political observers felt that a runoff was almost a foregone conclusion. And they were right.

Brown said if there was anything about Tuesday’s results that disturbed her, it was the voter turnout. Of roughly 26,000 registered voters in Dallas County, fewer than half that many, or 12,771, cast ballots.

“I was concerned with the low voter turnout,” Brown said. “Many of the precincts where I did well did not have a strong turnout. So that’s one thing we will be focused on in the runoff is making sure we get our supporters to the polls.”

Salaam credited his showing in part to his ability to make “major inroads to the white community.”

“When you consider what happened on 9/11,” he said, “that is nothing short of a political miracle.”

King also expressed disappointment with the turnout. “That’s politics,” he said. “Sometimes you pull a crowd and sometimes you don’t.”

King attributed the low turnout primarily to “white voter apathy” and vowed that he would seek office again. Asked if he planned to endorse one of the remaining candidates, he replied, “Right now, I’m just planning on a good night’s sleep.”