The Associated Press called yesterday and said that
there weren't enough votes left to change the outcome of the race. It
appears that Mike Coffman will be Colorado's next Secretary of State.
We have nothing to be ashamed of. We got more than 49 percent of the votes.
Mike has been elected statewide on two previous occasions and had gotten
quite a bit of deserved attention for going to Iraq. He was a formidable
opponent.
We
ran an honorable campaign. We did not accept campaign contributions from
special interest political action committees, and we engaged in no negative
campaigning. The only time we mentioned our opponent was to say something
positive about him in a letter on my website.
My
campaign staff worked hard and remained focused. Zach Zaslow showed a
maturity beyond his years. Brent Parrish helped us raise more money than
had ever previously been raised in a comparable race. Erika Jensen and
Maureen Beach worked long hours, were always cheerful and never complained
about a job that allowed for almost no personal time.
Volunteers
were too numerous to mention. I would like to point out the work of Ben
Marter, Cary Lacklen, Carol Peeples, Art Prostkoff, Nicole Hanlen, Jim Joy,
Paul Rosenthal, Delores Derrickson, Clarice Shepherd, Kate Breslin, Dave
Childs, Miranda Paley, Sean Gilmore and Ray Ehrenstein. Ken Smith was the
creative force behind many of the best things we did in the campaign.
The
election day problems in Denver were disturbing. Thousands of people who
intended to vote were not able to. I don't know if these problems were
enough to affect the outcome of the race.
The
Senate Democratic Caucus has honored me by electing me to be the Majority
Leader for the next two years. That is a place where I will be able to work
on election issues, as well as other interests such as protecting the
environment and education.
Mike
Coffman and I have already discussed working on election issues together. I
think it will be a good thing for the confidence of voters that election
issues be handled in a bipartisan manner.
Thanks
to all of you for your help. During the campaign season, when I was
physically or emotionally tired, the thought of all the people who had
contributed work or money to the campaign inspired me to continue my
efforts.
The
last thing I want to say is this: A campaign is several hundred days long.
Because of its nature people tend to judge the campaign by the ultimate
result. Was it a win or a loss? I think this is too narrow a way to look at
it. Every day we talked to people about democracy, about increasing the
influence of people and reducing the influence of money, about the
importance of participation. Who knows what shores the ripples of this
campaign will ultimately strike and what effect they will have? I am not
done with my public life, and the young people who participated in the
campaign will also be active for years to come. None of us have become
cynical. We are all still optimistic and idealistic. When all is said and
done, I'm proud of the campaign. I believe we did something good.
Sincerely,
Ken
Gordon
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