Republican Ryan Frazier gave Rep. Ed Perlmutter the toughest challenge he’s faced in CO-7, but in the end fell short of unseating the incumbent Democrat:
“Somebody upstairs, somebody was fooling around saying: ‘You da man.’ No, we da team!” Perlmutter said in his victory speech. “Thank you very, very much.”
The race was being watched nationally as an indicator for just how many seats Republicans would win and had been featured in numerous media outlets as a harbinger of the 2010 midterms.
“It’s been a tough two years for America. And this race has been really tough and it really has taken all of us,” he told the crowd. “The support that I got from different organizations and different people was fantastic.”
In his concession speech, Frazier maintained a defiant tone.
“I’m very honored and proud to be someone who lives in this district with you. And I want to tell you right now that sometimes you fall down, but the real challenge of an American is how you get back up and keep moving forward,” Frazier said. “Folks, let me assure you, we are not done. We are not done.”
This was the closest election Perlmutter has had since first winning Colorado’s newest congressional district in 2006.
“We just had to fight and make sure we had the personal touch with every voter, either by phoning them or by going door to door, and that’s what made the difference,” Perlmutter said in an interview with 9NEWS. “I’m just very proud that we had such a team effort to make a difference, to win this thing.”