Eric Massa in a Press Release will not concede. Dan Maffei has also made this same statement. They are on the same page. All counties must be canvased and absentee ballots counted or whatever else it takes. Chris Bowers on MyDD is energized to back up those close races where Dems appear to have lost.
We need to back up these great candidates.
For Immediate Release: November 8, 2006
Massa Says He's Not Conceding Anything
Corning, NY: Congressional candidate Eric Massa addressed a throng of family and supporters in his hometown of Corning, NY Tuesday night and refused to concede defeat. Massa called the race to unseat incumbent Randy Kuhl "too close to call." While the best count of votes at day's end showed Kuhl with about a 5,000 vote lead, there were still some districts with votes unreported, and a large number of uncounted absentee ballots -- by some estimates more than 10,000.
Massa told supporters and reporters, "We always knew it might come down to a narrow margin and, based upon the returns that have already come in, that seems to be the case. Two years ago, when we started this journey, no one believed we would come this far. No matter how the final tally ends up, this has been a victory for all of us who believe in a brighter future for the 29th District and for the United States of America.
This was a district where Republicans felt comfortable for two decades -- it was even redrawn to make it more reliably partisan -- but we proved them wrong. Regardless of what anyone says, we proved that this is not a country divided between those with Democratic values and those with Republican values. This is a country united behind American values.
While the counting will continue, we can all sleep well tonight knowing this has been a campaign that we can take enormous pride in. We ran a positive, issues-oriented campaign, of the highest calibre and the highest standards, to bring new leadership to the House of Representatives. I am delighted that control of the House will change hands, and that we will embark on a new era of accountability in Washington D. C."