Idaho Democrats remain optimistic despite losses

Democrats did not get the results they were looking for Tuesday night, but they are not giving up just yet.

Democratic governor candidate Paulette Jordan, who lost the race to Lt. Gov. Brad Little, stayed positive throughout the night, telling people they stood up for what they believed in.

“No one would have thought we would have got this far,” Jordan said. “No one imagined an Idaho like this. Be proud of yourselves, thank yourselves because we are here and we got here together.”

The night’s closest race was for state superintendent. Democratic candidate Cindy Wilson said, no matter the results, she learned a lot from the campaign.

“What I took from this campaign is that when we work together with people across the aisle, everybody coming together, there is a power and a momentum that can’t be stopped,” Wilson said. “And that’s what I am most excited about with our race.”

Lieutenant governor candidate Kristin Collum said just because she lost her race, doesn’t mean it is over for her.

“It so doesn’t stop here or now,” Collum said during her concession speech. “We’re going on, baby. We’re doing it. So this may be just the end of a chapter, but tomorrow, guess what, I start again.”

Democrats did see some changes in this election compared to previous.

“Our candidates actually had a larger percentage than we’ve had in the past,” said Bert Marley, chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party. “You know the races still are far apart, but a little narrower. So we feel like we’re on the right track. And so we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and try to find ways to do it better.”

Democrats did win a few state legislative seats. They say it is now time to work on future campaigns.