The Republican nominee for Missouri Attorney General, Ed Martin lost the race against incumbent Chris Koster last night by a double-digit margin.
He remained hopeful even as the gap began to widen early in the night.
"We have a Secretary of State who’s had a history of some sort of irregularities in how she reports stuff, so we’ll wait and see,” Martin told supporters gathered at a south St. Louis hotel. "But right now what we’re seeing on our internals is that we’re within two or three points."
About an hour before most news outlets called the race in Koster’s favor, Martin said it is important to wait until every vote is in to determine the race.
“I’m a little surprised Jasper County, Newton County, St. Charles County – these are the strongest Republican counties – none of them are reporting yet," he said.
Koster, however, did not wait for Martin to concede. He spoke to reporters at the Pageant in St. Louis just five minutes after Governor Jay Nixon, sounding the same notes of bi-partisanship.
"Those who supported our efforts this day, and those who supported the Republican nominee, you are my bosses equally, and I will endeavor to serve you faithfully," he said.
Koster won re-election as a Democrat just five years after leaving the Republican party over its stance on social issues. He instantly tamped down any talk that's he's interested in higher office in 2016.
Martin was unavailable for comment after his loss.
- See the St. Louis Beacon's Jason Rosenbaum's story on this race
- See more stories on issues and elections from St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis Beacon and Nine Network of Public Media at BeyondNovember.org.
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