Dear friends and supporters,

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for believing in me. The run-off obviously did not go the way we had hoped it would go. We got very close but came up just short. The reasons for that are long and varied, but in a nutshell, we were outspent heavily, and there were so many lies about us that we could not fight off the smear campaign and the mud thrown against us. We stayed positive; unfortunately, the opposition did not. As Tegwen told me, we can be proud of the example that we showed our young people and particularly, our daughter. That example is winning is not everything, and that you don't sacrifice your principles and Christ's example, frankly, just to win. We had many opportunities to exploit the opposition's transgressions—personal and otherwise—but, unlike our opposition, “winning at all costs” was never our primary goal. Unfortunately, they were very good at fabrication; that pretty well sums it up. 

I have enjoyed meeting with all of you, my neighbors and friends, on this bittersweet journey. Whether it was discussing an issue, talking about a struggle that you were going through or one that we shared, or whether we prayed together, I valued each and every one of these opportunities. A special thank you needs to go out to all of the supporters that believed in our cause enough to place a Beaudreau sign in their yard. This includes many folks that have never had a political sign in their yard in their entire life. 

Also to the volunteers in particular, thank you for all the hours that you have devoted to our cause. These countless hours of volunteer work have been truly inspirational to me, and they have kept me positive in spite of the relentless negativity of the opposition. Your ages ranged from 8 to 89 years old, and your strength allowed our campaign to be competitive in spite of being outspent nearly four to one. I would put our all-volunteer team up against any so-called "professional" campaign operation out there. What started out as a journey of a few has grown to a movement of many. We had a lot of folks join in along the way, and they were invaluable to us, whether they were driving, walking, calling or waving signs. Thank you to all that made this growth possible. 

The future is uncertain for us now. I am looking forward to spending the next few weeks recovering from the sheer exhaustion of this campaign. But, I have a family to lead, two Cross Country teams to coach (as the season is starting in earnest), and a career in the private sector on which to focus. I pray God's blessings on each and every one of you. Thanks for everything. You made it all worthwhile.