FORMER DUP assembly member Ian McCrea has lost his seat to party colleague Keith Buchanan.
A son of former Mid Ulster MP and MLA Rev William McCrea, he was beaten by the challenger by 161 votes on the tenth count.
The defeat brings the curtain down on a family dynasty that has spanned more than four decades.
Mr Buchanan and outgoing MLA Ian McCrea had been slugging it out for just one seat in the mainly nationalist constituency.
Party chiefs allowed Keith Buchanan to be added to the ticket alongside the outgoing MLA after he received backing from local party members.
Just 137 votes separated the pair after the first count with Mr Buchanan on 3,628 while Mr McCrea has 3,765.
Mr Buchanan received the backing of several senior figures in Mid-Ulster after his strong showing in the 2014 ‘super council’ elections.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein's political dominance in Mid Ulster continued yesterday after all three of its candidates were elected on the first count.
Veteran republican Ian Milne topped the poll with 7,035 votes while former agriculture minister Michelle O'Neill secured 6,147.
Newcomer Linda Dillon was elected with 5,833.
She replaced Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness who gave up his seat in the area to successfully stand in his native Foyle constituency.
They were joined by SDLP stalwart Patsy McGlone who had the second highest total, polling 6,209 votes.
The UUP's Sandra Overend polled 4,862 first
Elected: Ian Milne (SF), Michelle O'Neill (SF), Linda Dillon (SF), Patsy McGlone (SDLP), Sandra Overend (UUP), Keith Buchanan (DUP).
