Friends,
I want to thank you for being a part of my campaign for the State Senate. While absentee ballots are still being counted, information from the Board of Elections indicates that the number of outstanding ballots does not give me a realistic path to victory, and I do not think a protracted litigation would best serve the interest of the Hudson Valley.
Despite our best efforts, we have come up a little short – ending up with 49% of the vote. We won Westchester County by a significant margin; however, it was not enough to offset Senator Ball's victories in Dutchess and Putnam counties. I want to congratulate Senator Ball on a hard fought victory and wish him the best in representing our community.
I'm proud of the issues-based campaign that we ran, and I want to thank the voters for engaging in a lively discussion about the issues – from raising the minimum wage, to standing up for reproductive health, to reforming our campaign finance system, to enacting common sense gun safety laws, to moving forward with substantive property tax relief. We fought for issues that impact middle class families in New York, and I will continue to do that as a private citizen.
In the immediate future, I intend to spend a lot more time with the ladies in my life: my wife Christine and daughter Samantha! They have made tremendous sacrifices for me and I could not have done this without their support. Certainly, I will continue to be active in community issues that I'm passionate about. As Senator Kennedy famously said, "for me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Finally, I want to once again thank the amazing group of folks that helped build this campaign – my campaign staff, my family and friends, those who donated time and money, my friends in the labor movement, those who gave me their vote and everyone in between—we would not have gotten this far without you, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Justin Wagner