Shulman Letter on Election

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all you did to help bring change to our country over the course of this campaign. While we were not victorious in our race in the Fifth District, our work contributed to a national movement which helped bring important, much-needed change to our country. Our opponents poured millions of dollars into what was once considered a "safe" seat, taking resources from other races throughout the country, many of which we won.

This election was about more than me or you or Scott Garrett. It was about fixing our broken economy. Solving our energy crisis. Ending the disastrous war in Iraq. Caring for our veterans. Protecting a woman's right to choose. Offering hope to people in search of a cure. Offering support for America's working men and women and the middle class.

We did not win, but we remain right on all of these issues, and we will continue to fight for what we believe in.

While Scott Garrett will keep his seat in Congress for now, he will no doubt continue to be a marginal figure in the minority of his minority party. He will no doubt continue to take money from the special interests he is supposed to oversee. He will no doubt continue to hire former lobbyists into his taxpayer-funded office. He will no doubt continue to evade ethics laws and take tax breaks he is not entitled to. He will no doubt continue to pursue an aggressively extremist, right-wing agenda. And no doubt, the day will come when Scott Garrett will be defeated. His seat is "safe" no longer.

No one likes negative campaigning -- but we were right to take this fight aggressively to Scott Garrett, and we are right to continue highlighting the disturbing record of extremism and corruption he has amassed in Washington while he was supposed to be representing us. We have lost this battle, but this war is not yet over. Together, we will win this long-term struggle, we will beat back the special interests, and we will defeat corrupt politicians like Scott Garrett who hold us back from our nation's righteous course.

Thank you to each and every one of you who invested your time, energy, money, thoughts and prayers into this race. Our efforts were not in vain. We delivered our message to hundreds of thousands of people, and we helped bring about a wave of change that ushered President Barack Obama into office. It is a new morning in our country, and all of us should be proud that we helped make that happen.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the support you gave me during the past year. Thanks again, for everything, from the bottom of my heart.

Yours,
Dennis Shulman