Former U.S. Rep. Jill Long Thompson’s declaration of victory in the Indiana’s Democratic primary for governor might be a little premature, her opponent’s campaign staff said Wednesday morning.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting this morning, Long Thompson leads Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger by 7,147 votes. Percentage-wise, the vote is split 50-50.

That’s still too close to call, Schellinger campaign manager Tim Jeffers said in a statement.

"There are many precincts still uncounted, provisional ballots to count and sort through, and a re-canvass process that will likely show shifts in county vote totals," Jeffers said.

Wednesday morning, Schellinger was getting briefings at home from his campaign staff, said Jennifer Wagner, the campaign’s communications director.

"There’s no earthly way Jill Long Thompson should be declaring victory right now," Wagner said. "We’re trying to get the complete picture so we can know what it is we’re dealing with here, so we can know what the next steps are."

Those next steps include making sure provisional ballots are counted – that must happen within the next 10 days – and possibly re-canvassing the vote, or making sure each ballot was properly counted.

But Long Thompson’s campaign says the race is over, and that numerous media outlets have called the race for her.

"We’re in general election mode," said Jeff Harris, communications director for the Long Thompson campaign. "Jill Long Thompson is the Democratic nominee of our party, and we’re moving forward."

Long Thompson declared victory and began soliciting donations for a run against Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in the fall.

She is expected to hold a news conference with party leaders Wednesday afternoon in Indianapolis.

Reporter Troy Kehoe will have more on this story on WSBT News at 5:30 p.m.

For more election headlines and voter resources, go to WSBT.com's Campaign ‘08 section.