ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- It was a big night for Democrats in Monroe County as the party swept critical offices of the sheriff, Rochester mayor, and several town supervisors on Tuesday.

The head of Monroe County Democrats attributed those results and Tuesday’s relatively high turnout to a combination of the national mood and the strength of local candidates.

“I think the fact that we had so many local people stepping up and running for local office is one of the reasons why more people turned out to the polls this year," said Jamie Romeo, Monroe County Democratic Chair. "It’s a great indicator of the momentum that we’ve had here as a community and as a party. We always know that when more people in our community vote, Democrats tend to do better.”

However, the head of the Monroe County Republicans tried to remain optimistic despite his losses.

“We had victories in Gates, we had victories in Greece and many other towns," said Bill Reilich, Monroe County GOP Chair. "We’re going to keep going, we’re going to keep fighting, all it means is we’re going to roll up our sleeves a little higher. We’re going to do this and win next year big.”