History repeated itself Tuesday night as 22-year-old University of Michigan student Yousef Rabhi won election to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners.

Rabhi, of Ann Arbor, will fill the shoes of outgoing Democratic Commissioner Jeff Irwin, who was elected to the seat a decade ago, oddly enough, as a 22-year-old U-M student.

Yousef Rabhi celebrates his victory at Tios Mexican Cafe in downtown Ann Arbor Tuesday night.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

"In terms of this victory, it does seem like history did repeat itself to some extent, but I hope that I will live up to the standards of Jeff Irwin," said Rabhi, a Democrat.

After a decade on the county board, Irwin was promoted Tuesday night to the position of state representative, taking over the 53rd District state House seat.

Rabhi celebrated victory with friends and family at Tios Mexican Cafe in downtown Ann Arbor. He defeated Republican Joe Baublis 5,637 to 1,828 votes.

"It feels amazing," he said of his win. "After a year of campaigning, a year of hitting the pavement, you know, wearing out the soles of my shoes, my feet hurt, my body hurts from doing so much walking and talking, but it was a great experience. It was a very fulfilling experience talking to so many people, and a year later, I'm standing here and I've done it and I've won."

In the spirit of adding another younger voice to the county board, Rabhi said he was hoping 27-year-old Adam Zemke, also a Democrat, would have won his race in the 1st District Tuesday night. But Zemke fell to Republican Rob Turner by 723 votes.

Still, Rabhi said he's happy to be able to offer his own youthful perspective. Rabhi will graduate from U-M in December just before he starts his two-year term in January.

"I'm hoping to bring positive energy and really a positive outlook on the future, so we can solve the problems of our community and move forward," he said. "I really appreciate everybody who came out there, who believed in me, who supported me, who endorsed me. I mean, those are the people who made the difference in this campaign. It's not about me."

To read more about Rabhi, visit his website.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.