CARROLLTON — Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller lost to challenger Ron Branson on Saturday in a race that apparently turned on questions about Mrs. Miller's statements about her past.

She had led by 9 percentage points in early voting, but those ballots were cast at least a day before a Dallas Morning News story delved into her background.

Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet said Mr. Branson won on election day at about the same ratio by which he trailed in the early voting.

"That's a total flip," Mr. Sherbet said. "I can just make the assumption that because of the timing of it, that [news story] definitely had an impact on voters on election day."

Mr. Branson, 60, had hoped for just such a reversal with later returns. He said voters entering the polls were "giving the thumbs up and waves and smiles – it looked like we were doing very well."

"I think people looked at the issues," he said, "but when the news story hit, it did change a lot of people's minds."

As the race narrowed to a dead heat with more returns coming in, Mrs. Miller, 58, declined to comment. She couldn't immediately be reached after the final outcome.

Mrs. Miller had accused Mr. Branson of "dirty politics" for questioning her statements to council colleagues that her brother died in Vietnam.

The mayor, who is white, gave Mr. Branson a soldier's name, but a check showed the young man was black and had been born within four months of her, so he couldn't have been her brother.

Mrs. Miller later said she deliberately misled Mr. Branson out of anger over his prying.

After her father said there was no brother who had died in Vietnam, she said her father has Alzheimer's disease. Later, she said the "brother" was actually an unrelated young man raised by her family. She declined to provide his name, citing painful circumstances.

Checks then raised questions about Mrs. Miller's statements that she sang professionally for Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, had ties to the Eagles frontman Don Henley and attended Western Kentucky University.

Spokesmen said the three singers didn't know her, and a Western Kentucky official said the school had no record of her attended there.

Mrs. Miller has since said she's not surprised the singers didn't remember her after 30 years. She insists that she did attend the college for a few months.

Voters Saturday offered a mix of opinions about the candidates. Bob Olsen, 52, supported Mr. Branson because of his tough stance against illegal immigrants.

"He thinks kind of the same way Tim O'Hare does," Mr. Olsen said, referring to the Farmers Branch council member who won the mayor's seat Saturday.

Kathryn McWhorter, 69, voted for Mrs. Miller.

"She has been good to this city. She is a leader," Ms. McWhorter said. "I think Mr. Branson has brought a negative image."

Orrin Russell voted for Mr. Branson because of Mrs. Miller's acknowledgment that she had falsely told Mr. Branson about her brother's death in Vietnam.

"People that lie about that tick me off," said Mr. Russell, 62.

Tommie Williams, 55, said he voted for Mrs. Miller because he felt "a good gut instinct."

Dallas Morning News staff writer Brandon Formby contributed to this report.