Dear Friends & Patriots,

Thank you so much for your support of my campaign for State Senate. It turned out to be a very close race, but I’m disappointed to report that we came up short in the end. At 9:28 pm, I called my opponent, congratulated him on his victory, and told him we would be praying for his success.

The loss was especially disappointing as polls showed we had developed a good lead two weeks out, but we watched it quickly slip away under an onslaught of false attacks through mailers and radio ads. The good news is, I learned a lot from this race that I can apply if we feel called to run again in the future. One thing is certain: we didn’t lose for a lack of hard work. As a team, we knocked on over 15,000 doors and had around 1,700 campaign signs in people’s yards with permission. I am so grateful for how our incredible team left it all on the field and competed honorably. While it turned out to be a nasty race, I’m proud that we held to our commitment from the start to deliver only the facts, never be vindictive, and trust the Lord with the results.

It was incredibly humbling to witness our friends stand up for us and help us get the truth out. It’s unfortunate that offering oneself for public service means being subjected to slander and lies, but I’m constantly reminded that it doesn’t begin to compare to my brothers facing bullets on the frontlines to defend our freedom. As uncomfortable as it was, I will not let the experience cause me to shy away from public service if called in the future. After all, public service should be a sacrifice and never about power, ego, or self. I believe we’re at a crucial point in our history which necessitates patriots sacrificially stepping up across this land to secure the blessings of liberty for the next generation.

After this loss, the thought of a future run is almost unbearable until I think of the incredible sacrifice so many have made for our freedom. I’m reminded of what I constantly tell my children: if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again. I have now been on a ballot four times and lost half of them. As a coach, I’ve always told my athletes that you learn more in defeat than in victory, and after Tuesday's defeat, I know this to be more true than ever.

As I close, I’d like to express my appreciation to my wife and children who made tremendous sacrifices during this campaign. In all my years of volunteering for candidates and serving myself in the past, I’ve never witnessed a spouse more "all in" than Chelsey. She was out knocking on doors every day, rain or shine. In the tough moments, she constantly encouraged me to remember why we got in the race and God’s faithfulness to us through the years, in ups and downs.

I’m grateful for the many messages of encouragement we have received. Many of you have challenged me not to give up and offered to stand beside us again. That means more than you will ever know because, without a doubt, the hardest part about running for office is asking people to contribute and volunteer.

Thank you again,

Josh Clark