Joshua Raines knew he faced an uphill battle in his bid to win the State House District 7 seat. And in the end, it was too tall a task for the politcal newcomer.
Raines lost by a wide margin to incumbent
Terrance Carroll, the popular Democrat who currently serves as the assistant majority leader in the Colorado State House of Representatives. Despite knocking on several hundred doors in the district, his efforts weren't enough.
The most recent results show Raines, a 25-year-old conservative Republican, garnered only 21 percent of the votes. He said he was surprised he wasn't able to pick up more support in the heavily Democratic district.
Raines joined friends and family to watch election results at Allegra's Pizza, 2240 Oneida St., a small pizzeria nestled in the Park Hill neighborhood. He said he was optimistic after visiting local polling locations to shake hands with voters in an attempt to get some last minute votes.
At the age of 25, Raines was one of the youngest candidates seeking local office in this year's election. His young age and relative lack of experience in the political fray didn't concern him, however.
The Denver resident says he's a "mature 25" - he enlisted in the Air Force when he was 19 and was deployed to serve in the Middle East in 2003. After being honorably discharged, Raines moved from Las Vegas, Nev. to Colorado with his wife,
Angie, who recently gave birth to their second child,
Alicia.
Raines currently works part-time as a security officer and attends the University of Colorado at Denver, where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science. He said he's unsure whether he'll run for office again.
It's closing time // 8:55 p.m.
The optimism has been sucked out of the room. Supporters clear out quickly and Josh gets a hug from his wife and handshakes from others. "I'm disappointed because he worked so hard," she said, trying to hold back tears. "But I guess it just wasn't meant to be." Josh said he was surprised he didn't garner more votes.
The results are in // 8:35 p.m.Josh just got the first wave of results and they don't look too good. The numbers show Raines with 20 percent of the vote compared to 80 percent for Carroll. His supporters let out a moan. One woman in the crowd says, "That's really sad. He (Carroll) didn't do anything. He didn't knock one door. You knocked on 5,000."
TV news causes more anxiety //8:45 p.m. The crew gathered at Allegra's has been watching the ticker on Fox31 for results from House District 7, but the ticker keeps skipping from House District 6 to House District 9, causing the crew to search for a new TV station.
Raines responds to early results // 7:45 p.m. "It's stacked against us," Raines said. "We're outnumbered in the district four to one, but that's ok. I think we're going to do better than any Republican has ever done. So we'll see."
Raines arrives//7:25 p.m. Josh just walked through the door at Allegra's. He shook hands with some of his friends, who already have gathered here for the night.
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