Voters on Tuesday set the Republican lineup for the Montgomery County Commission races in November, selecting Gary Leitzell and Bob Matthews to face two long-time Democratic incumbents.

Leitzell and Matthews racked up a decisive victories in the Republican primary, even though their opponents had public service experience and were endorsed by the Montgomery County Republican Party.

Unofficial election results showed Leitzell beating Donald Birdsall, the past president of the Dayton Tea Party, by a couple of percentage points.

Leitzell, Dayton’s former mayor, credited his victory to a strong turnout, name recognition and his accomplishments while in office.

“Having been mayor who left with a good track record helped,” he said.

Matthews, a Miami Twp. trustee who defeated Charlotte McGuire, said he believes his business background made him stand out.

“I think that was the main distinction between us … the business experience and local government experience,” he said.

Leitzell said Tuesday’s win shows that people remember some of the good work he did in office, including spearheading Welcome Dayton and expanding recycling citywide.

Leitzell served one term as Dayton mayor before losing his seat to Nan Whaley in 2013. The next year, he ran as an independent for Commissioner Dan Foley’s seat, but lost with less than 10 percent of the vote.

However, Leitzell said running as a Republican should boost his chances in the general election.

He describes himself as a libertarian, since he is far right on financial issues but left of center on social issues.

In November, he will face Democrat Debbie Lieberman, who is seeking a fourth term.

Meanwhile, Matthews will try to unseat Democrat Judy Dodge, who has served on the commission since 2006.

Matthews said his win Tuesday was helped by name recognition, which he’s earned from serving as a trustee in a successful and growing township and being involved in a county township association.

If elected, Matthews said he wants to make the county more business friendly. He said he would promptly assemble a team of consultants from the business community and social organizations to identify ways the county can better serve them.