Rep. Les Fossel was leading and Stuart Smith 809-411 Tuesday night in the Republican primary for Senate District 21, according to unofficial results.

The early results included 9 of 21 precincts reporting.

The winner will face State Sen. Christopher Johnson, D-Somerville, who won a special election for the Senate District 20 seat in February.

Fossel, 65, of Alna, is a two-term legislator and restoration contractor with assignments on three legislative committees — Health and Human Services, Judiciary and Government Oversight — and chairs the legislature’s unofficial Moderate Caucus.

Smith, 49, of Smith, is an Edgecomb selectman and computer programmer who is also on the State Board of Corrections.

The district includes every Lincoln County town but Dresden, and also includes Windsor in Kennebec County and Washington and Friendship in Knox County.