Andrews concedes with no regrets

CHERRY HILL -- Claiming to have no regrets, Rob Andrews conceded tonight in his Democratic Senate race against Frank Lautenberg, leaving off the latest chapter in his quest for statewide office but not ruling out a future in politics.

After a two month long hardscrabble Democratic Senate campaign, several hundred Rob Andrews supporters gathered in Camden County Democratic Headquarters to see their candidate give his concession speech just after 10:00 this evening.

“A few minutes ago I had the privilege of calling Sen. Lautenberg and congratulating him on a well deserved victory in our campaign,” he said.

In the end, it wasn’t even close. Lautenberg appears to have beaten Andrews by a margin significantly larger than polls predicted.

As of 10:30, with 83% reporting, Lautenberg led Andrews by 30 points. Some had held out optimism that slow-to-report south Jersey precincts could narrow the gap, but it soon became evident that it was too much to overcome.

Andrews thanked his friends, family and supporters, including those in north Jersey. And he singled out for special praise political powerbroker George Norcross.

“In some people you have a political ally. In George Norcross you have a brother who you can trust, and I thank him for all that he did.”

While the race did turn particularly contentious, with some jabs thrown from both sides, Andrews claimed no bitter feelings towards Lautenberg and praised his Senate career spanning three decades.

“At the end of the day this race is a credit to Sen. Lautenberg, that he’s built a good record and people support him for that reason,” said Andrews.

From the beginning of his candidacy, Andrews has been plagued by rumors that he would seek to return to his House seat. Asked whether he would have any interest in returning, he simply said “no.”

But he wouldn’t rule out a run for Governor or Lieutenant Governor next year – positions that some insiders speculated Andrews was truly running for.

“I would never rule anything in or out. And my plan is to think about what’s best for my family and make a decision about that,” he said.

Andrews said that he assumed that he would have had a better shot if he had gotten into the race earlier, but that it didn’t matter at this point.

“Life is not about what you should have done, it’s what you did do,” he said.

Perhaps as a sign that things weren’t going well early on in the night, a large screen displayed the same early returns for an hour straight that showed Andrews leading Lautenberg by five points. Te results didn't change until Andrews took teh stage.

Moments before Andrews took the podium, Assemblyman Lou Greenwald admitted that Andrews was ready to concede and said that, had the timing been more favorable, the result could have been different.

“I think in many respects this was an opportunity to pursue a dream he’s always had and he thought this was his time and opportunity. I think in many respects he has no regrets,” said Greenwald. “I think his chances would have been a lot better if he had gotten into the race earlier.”