Democrat Zephyr Teachout attributed her loss in the race for New York’s 19th Congressional district in great part to SuperPAC money in support of her Republican opponent John Faso. She vowed to continue fighting for democracy.
Teachout began her concession speech this way:
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. It has been a bad night for honest, respectful democracy across the country,” Teachout says. “And in this race, in this race, we did not have the result we wanted.”
The Fordham University law professor also told supporters:
“We may have lost this race but we’re not going away,” Teachout says.
Poughkeepsie resident Joyce Davis believes Teachout’s loss is linked to the win for President-elect Donald Trump.
“I think the people really believe that he can make a change, and it just trickled down,” Davis says.
Hyde Park resident Dana Gavin was in tears for the outcome of both the congressional and presidential races.
“I’m worried and I’m devastated and I’m leaving now to literally go home and hide under my bed and try to figure out what do I do tomorrow,” Gavin says.
Ulster County resident and attorney Julian Schreibman lost to Republican Congressman Chris Gibson in 2012.
“It’s a Republican-leaning district and it’s always going to be tough for a Democratic candidate,” Schreibman says. “Certainly Zephyr made a great pitch about appealing to people looking for an independent voice, people looking for something different than what they’re getting from Washington. But, unfortunately, as she just described, the amount of money that’s able to flow in legally into races like this can really drown out your message. And for any of us that seek public office, we hope for a fair hearing on the issues and it can be very frustrating when that fair hearing is drowned out by 30-second attack ads.”
Teachout says she is proud of her campaign and how it was funded, with an average contribution of $19 and more than 250,000 individual contributions. Teachout says no fewer than four SuperPACs targeted her, spending $6.7 million in attack ads against her.
“This was a race inside the post-Citizens United world,” Teachout says. “And, in that race, it wasn’t me against John Faso. It was all of us against a handful of billionaires who were using misleading SuperPAC attack ads.”
For most of the race, polls showed it neck-and-neck, but the last Siena College poll the weekend before the election gave Faso a 6-point lead. Teachout, who ran against Governor Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 Democratic primary, wants Citizens United, which allows for unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, overturned. Hyde Park resident Paul Donnelly volunteered for Teachout’s campaign.
“I’m heartbroken,” says Donnelly. “I love our country and I’m scared of our future by democracy. I really am.”
Donnelly teaches history and government at Poughkeepsie High School. He says Teachout has inspired him to run for county legislator next year. Again, Teachout:
“We lost this campaign but it is part of something bigger,” Teachout says. “It’s part of a revolution on the Hudson that includes the CWA standing up against Verizon, that includes the people of New York standing up against fracking and the anchorages and the Pilgrim pipeline and the bomb trains.”
The closely watched race nationally brought some tweets in recent days for Teachout from unexpected places. Performer Bette Midler tweeted, “If you’re in the #19thCongressionalDistrict, in upstate NY, take a look @ZephyrTeachout for Congresswoman! I like her!” It’s a tweet that prompted a response from singer Cyndi Lauper, who wrote, “Thank you. I looked her up. She sounds great.” A campaign spokeswoman says Teachout has no connection to either.
