Gifford fails in bid for US Congress

Observers blame defeat on former US ambassador’s stint in Denmark as local candidate storms home

Rufus Gifford, the former US ambassador to Denmark, has today conceded defeat in his bid to win a seat in Congress for Massachusetts’s third district.

With 91 percent of the votes counted, he was running in fourth place of the nine candidates with around 14 percent of the total – a long way behind leader Daniel Koh on 21.9 percent.

Losing out to the locals
Koh and second-placed Lori  Trahan were both prominent heads of staff in the state – for the mayor of Boston, and locally-based Martin Meehan, the former representative for Massachusetts’s fifth district, respectively.

Gifford, in contrast, was seen as an outsider having just moved back to the state after more than three years in Denmark.

Gifford vows to battle on
“It’s sad for me,” Gifford told media after his defeat.

“We threw ourselves into it and did not achieve our goal. We knew that was the risk. I went into it with my heart and soul. Now the next chapter is waiting.”

Gifford confirmed he will continue to work in either politics or another form of public service.

 

 

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