HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The close race for Senate District 14 ended Saturday morning when Democrat Paul Tuss called Republican Russell Tempel to concede. Tempel is leading the race by 139 votes. Tuss says that while there are still provisional ballots left to count, there aren’t enough for him to take the election.
“When you consider the ballots that still need to be counted, there simply aren’t enough of those provisional ballots that would make a difference and put me over the finish line to victory. So, I did call Russ Tempel to congratulate him on his victory.”
Tuss has no plans for another campaign in the future, but is keeping that option open.
“The last thing from my mind is to announce another political campaign at this point. You know, I think you never say never, and if the political bug has hit you, it’s hard to close that door permanently. But at this point, I certainly don’t have any interest in running in the near future, but who knows what the longer term will hold.”
Tuss says he has no regrets about the campaign, in which he received 49 percent of the vote.
