We may not have won the election for State House District 57 this time around, but we put up a good fight. The campaign was a lot of fun and I am humbled by the amount of support that I received. It was a great experience and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people along the way.
Unfortunately, the numbers in the district that I was running for were stacked against me. As far as voter registration is concerned, it is 58 percent Democrat, 29 percent Republican, and 13 percent Unaffiliated. That means that there are literally twice as many Democrats than Republicans in the district. When you consider these numbers, the fact that we were able to garner 44 percent of the vote is something to be very proud of.
When Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of two-to-one, it because an extremely difficult task for any Republican to get elected. That's why our elected officials need to focus on making electoral districts more competitive, rather than shaping them to favor a particular candidate or political party. In other words, we need to put an end to gerrymandering and create districts that are fair and apolitical.
Despite the numbers, however, I thought that we had a chance. That's why I worked hard and dedicated myself to the campaign. Unfortunately, the numbers that we were up against turned out to be extremely difficult to overcome.
At this point, I am upbeat and optimistic about our future. At the national level, the Republicans have taken the U.S. House and the Republicans gained seats in the U.S. Senate.
However, what has me the most optimistic is the fact that the Republicans have gained the majority in the North Carolina legislature for the first time in 112 years. Not only did we make history on election day, Republicans now have a chance to implement policies that will improve the economy and brighten the future of North Carolina.
Perhaps the most significant element of the recent elections in North Carolina is the fact that Republicans are going to control the redistricting process in 2011. This means that we can level the playing field by making districts more competitive. As I mentioned before, the numbers in D57 favor Democrats and make it very difficult for a Republican to compete there. But all of that is likely to change, now that we have a Republican majority in the State Legislature.
Someone asked me recently if I feel disappointed because I lost. I told them that there is no reason to be disappointed. We worked hard and gave it our best shot. At the end of the day, that's all you can do. There is no reason to feel down if you can look back and say that you tried your best.
Finally, I want to say how much I appreciate all of the support has been given to me. There is no way that I could have made it this far without the generous support that so many people offered to my campaign. It was a great experience and I'm proud of what we have accomplished.
We made an amazing amount of progress in the 2010 elections, but our work is far from over. Let's stay focused and keep moving forward so we can make more progress in 2012!
