One election winner in Westborough on Monday probably won't get pats on the back.

They would hurt.

The hedgehog became the Fales Elementary School's mascot Monday when it defeated the owl, 128 to 127, on a school-wide ballot, Principal Maryann Stannard said afterward.

The firefly was a distant third with 29 votes after failing to drum up any buzz.

Students voted in the school computer lab, where they pressed 1 for firefly, 2 for hedgehog and 3 for owl on a response card, Building Technology Specialist Kari Addington said.

Each student received a special "I voted - Kids Vote Too!" sticker, Stannard said.

The campaign began with third graders presenting persuasive pieces during an Oct. 26 school meeting, she said.

Last Friday, Kerry Ciccone's third graders polled each classroom, and turned the results into graphs.

Monday morning, students saw video commercials of each candidate, made by parent Dave Crandall and sons Cole and Chase, Stannard said. Cole is in Kindergarten and Chase in second grade.

This Friday, students will be asked to draw pictures of the winner, which turned out to be the hedgehog, Stannard said.

An artist will design a hedgehog based on those drawings, she said.