In South Florida's most bare knuckle state primary, a razor-thin electoral margin kept three former state representatives in suspense throughout the night as they waited to see out who would claim the southeast Broward Senate seat.

Ken Gottlieb, Tim Ryan and Eleanor Sobel all hoped to replace term-limited Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, who leaves office after 20 years in the Legislature.

But with less than a few hundred votes separating Gottlieb and Sobel, a potential recount hovered as a real possibility.

While the results rolled in late Tuesday, Sobel, a Broward School Board member, said she was confident about her chances, but said ``we don't want to pat ourselves on the back until it's over.''

The winner of Tuesday's primary faces only a write-in candidate in November, making the victor the likely heir to the Broward state Senate seat that stretches from Hallandale Beach and Hollywood to parts of Plantation, Davie and Cooper City.

Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda C. Snipes acknowledged that a recount was a possibility in state Senate District 31.

Under state law, an automatic recount is triggered if a legislative candidate wins by less than half a percentage point. And if the recount narrows that margin to less than 0.25 percent, there must be a manual recount of all undervotes and overvotes.

''Right now, it looks that close,'' Sobel said. 'But it's out of my hands. It's in the voters' hands.''

The campaign to replace Geller was a classic case study on term limits as three former state representatives with long political résumés scrambled for a single Senate seat.

All three spent most of the day Tuesday at Century Village in Pembroke Pines in a last-ditch effort to woo one of the district's most powerful voting blocs.

Gottlieb, who represented the area as a state representative, ultimately won the heavily Jewish condo community, with voters citing his track record.

''Kenny's the man,'' said Celeste Mogus, 82. ``He's very, very popular in Century Village. . . . If you take the old Century Village voters, they will vote for Kenny because they know Kenny.''

But the race's biggest wild card: the Hollywood vote, which went uncounted late into the night.

Both Gottlieb and Sobel served as Hollywood City Commissioners. And some wondered whether the city would put one candidate over the top or whether the two would split the vote, giving Ryan an edge.

At 10:15 p.m., a half-empty Gottlieb victory party at Sebastiano's -- a regular hangout for the Gottlieb family -- was winding down.

The candidate, who watched the results come in alone, was subdued, but still optimistic.

''I think we're going to win,'' Gottlieb said. ``There are some precincts still out there we think we are going to win.''

When asked about the possibility of an automatic recount, he replied, ``I haven't even thought about that.''

The District 31 campaign was one of South Florida's most expensive state primaries with all three candidates raising well over $250,000.

In the mad-dash final weeks of the campaign, Sobel and Ryan each loaned themselves at least $100,000 for a last-minute fundraising edge. Just days before the primary Sobel had raised roughly $425,000 and Ryan had close to $350,000, while Gottlieb trailed with about $260,000.

Huge sums of money also helped two electioneering communication organizations launch attacks against all three candidates.

One pro-Sobel group linked to the Florida Medical Association raised more than $1.5 million, which it used to blast Gottlieb and Ryan and send mailings backing Sobel.

The group, People for a Better Florida Fund, spent the final days of the campaign flooding the airwaves with one TV ad that accused Gottlieb and Ryan of being ``Tallahassee Insiders.''

Money from the medical industry also poured directly into Sobel's campaign coffers, making up about 40 percent of her contributions.

Another electioneering communication organization run by political consultant Russ Oster -- the Integrity Counts Committee -- targeted Sobel, focusing on a 2006 promise she made to serve out her four-year school board term and a vote earlier on a pro-voucher bill.

Democratic party purity became a key campaign talking point -- and a key source of attacks. All three candidates were accused of taking money from Republican donors and supporters of former Gov. Jeb Bush.

And while all three candidates did receive at least $20,000 from Bush supporters and state Republican Party donors, most of that money came from groups and lobbyists that traditionally give to candidates on both sides of the aisle.

The attacks turned off some voters.

''It was terrible,'' said Marilyn Silverman, who voted for Gottlieb at Hollywood Hills High School. ``I got all kinds of stuff in the mail. . . . In a race this close, it could definitely make a difference.''

Miami Herald staff writer Ely Portillo contributed to this report.

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