“I feel good right now,” said Brad Zaun about 9:30pm last night, over his chances in the Third District Congressional race. Supporters and political activists came and went at Zaun’s election night event at Christopher’s Restaurant, as election results continued to trickle in. Zaun was always in the lead, but by 10:30pm, as that lead dropped from 34% to 31% to 29%, it became clear the 3rd district race was heading for a convention vote on June 21 (at Creston High School at 10:00a).
Even so, Zaun remained upbeat in his speech to supporters. “We got first place!” he announced to a tired but cheering crowd of about 50 people. He admitted he was “a bit disappointed,” but thanked everyone who made phone calls and knocked on doors. “What happened tonight was that we got 4 or 5 [votes] to 1. I ran a grassroots campaign, and I got first place. This is the way you’re supposed to win elections.”
With more than two weeks of campaigning ahead of him yet, Zaun promised that although they may be outspent, they will “not be outworked.” He said he’s already called many of the convention delegates and has a plan. “What the people of the Third District said tonight is they want me in there.”
Voter turn out was low for the primary election, and hampered further by thunderstorms and heavy rains. Zaun expressed his concern for those who came out to support candidates, “I just hope everyone is safe tonight.” As supporters left the Beaverdale restaurant, the construction cones in the street bobbed up and down in the runoff water, just as this still-undecided election will bob along for another few weeks.
