IOWA CITY — Only small numbers of mail ballots are arriving after the election in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, where the candidates in Tuesday’s election remain locked in a tight race.

In unofficial returns, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads Democrat Rita Hart by 282 votes out of more than 393,000 cast. The Associated Press has not called a winner in the race.

The candidates are competing for a seat that opened with the retirement of Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack, who was first elected in 2006.

Iowa will count absentee ballots that were postmarked by Monday and arrive at the county auditor’s office by noon Nov. 9. Election boards will also include any provisional ballots cast after determining whether the voters were eligible.

The liberal stronghold of Johnson County reported that an election board met Thursday and decided to count 53 absentee and provisional ballots. Hart picked up 33 votes while Miller-Meeks added 15, according to data released by the county. The board will meet again Monday to consider any other late arriving ballots.

Two other counties that Hart narrowly carried — Jefferson and her home county of Clinton — reported Thursday that they had received a total of 16 absentee ballots combined that haven’t been counted, and even fewer provisionals.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s office says more than 12,000 ballots were sent to voters in the district that have not been returned. Based on past elections, most of them are unlikely to come in.

Hart’s campaign has been awaiting the arrival of those ballots. Miller-Meeks has expressed confidence that her lead will stand, an outcome that would flip to Republicans a second seat held by Democrats in Iowa.

Recounts of specific counties can be requested by either candidate after next week’s official canvass and are considered likely in the race, which means it could be unsettled for some time.