The 2014 election Summit County canvass was held on 11/18 with the only close race being for Summit County Auditor. Prior to the canvass I was down 43 votes. After the canvas I was down 56 votes. The final totals for my opponent is 5,230 votes (50.27%) and for myself 5,174 votes (49.73%) for a total of 10,404 votes. Looking at past elections in Summit County the data indicated that the shift during canvas with the votes outstanding in our race averaged about 30 votes up or down with no clear indication whether the vote shift favored the eventual winner or loser. So we lost an additional 13 votes which certainly was in the realm of likelihood. If we had gained the 13 votes it would have put us precariously close to a re-count (which with the computerized voting of today would not likely have changed anything).

So I think the operative word for the 2014 canvass is "disappointing" but ultimately we campaigned long and hard and did about all we could have done. In Summit County, no new (non-incumbent) Republican has been elected to a county office since the 2008 election, making our close race even more remarkable.

I will wrap up the 2014 election in another post in a few days. I have been looking at the data and extrapolating it out and in the near term it is not encouraging for Summit County Republican candidates. This will very likely be our last campaign for a Summit County office. Now, there certainly may be an office of interest which includes Summit County but is not dependent on Summit County votes for a win, i.e., State Representative, State Senator, etc. There is absolutely no way I could run on a Party that has as its members Barry, Harry, and Nancy so even if that would get me elected in Summit County (as it did my opponent who was a Republican for years up until three weeks before this election's filing deadline) I refuse to compromise my Constitutional/Libertarian principles and/or deceive the voters - what a contemptible way to start a term in office as their County Auditor. So maybe moving to another county or finding a multi-county office may be in our future. But for now, another Thank You to all those who got us to this point. I really appreciate your help and vote! One never fails until one stops trying.

Gary