05/07/2026
Over the last 24 hours, I've received countless messages, emails, texts, and calls from people across the district. I can't thank everyone enough for the support and encouragement I've received so I figured I'd make a post to share my thoughts and answer questions about my future outlook.
First, thank you again for everything everyone has done for me from a simple introduction, advice, constructive criticism, volunteering, donating, and most importantly voting for me. It was never taken for granted and every conversation has been important no matter how big or small.
This race was close. I lost by just over 1700 votes with a district total of over 41,000. Turnout was huge for this year, which in itself was spectacular to see! An obstacle I had to overcome compared to my opponents was name recognition in a few areas, which unfortunately doesn't help for someone who is a first-time candidate. Two of my opponents have run in elections in the past, so my only shot to overcome that was to work my ass off, and that is exactly what I was doing Monday through Sunday every week. There was no question that I put in an enormous amount of work compared to other candidates. Were there things I should have done differently? Yes, definitely, but learning from those mistakes and moving forward is just a part of life.
As many of you now know my life story, I was statistically not going to be where I am now in life. Overcoming those odds took a lot of grit and sacrifice to achieve what I have and to even be in a position to run for an office was an even greater feat. To see over 10k people vote for me was an incredible feeling to know that there are so many people out there who believe and trust in me. For that, I'm forever grateful!
So what does all this mean for my future? I'm definitely not done. Some have asked me to run again or at least run for another office. I can say that I will be doing just that, but it's too early to say what office or exactly when that will happen. I will be making my way around the district here soon though to try to be at every county/club party meeting over the next few months to at least say thank you to everyone in person.
For now, I'm going to take a step out of the spotlight and focus on some family time and running my business. I'll still have my hand on helping around the district as I'm too invested in achieving success for all of us so you may still see me involved in some places.
I will still keep this page so that it can be ready for my next endeavor, but more than likely I will not actively be posting. I may reactivate and update my personal page for those who want to keep tabs on me in the meantime though.
Till next time ๐ - Daniel Burket