5:00 update: Jax race tightens; GOP within 4000 raw votes of Dems

With less than two hours left to vote in the Jacksonville election, the percentage gap between Republicans and Democrats continues to tighten, and the GOP is finally within 4,000 votes of the Dems.

So far, 81,013 Democrats have voted, along with 77,088 Republicans and 20,560 NPA voters, for a total of 178,661 votes cast.

The rounded Democrat total is 45 percent, while the GOP total stands at 43 percent, which brings us to D + 2, a more favorable scenario than the D + 3 model that our St. Pete Poll was predicated upon.

That model had Lenny Curry winning by 1 point, and Ken Jefferson by 2 points. The increased GOP turnout could be good news for Mike Williams and downticket Republicans

If raw votes continue to approach proportional parity, crossover and NPA votes will tell the tale.

Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms rock the area.