Republican Joe O'Dea gracious in defeat in U.S. Senate race, says "we ran one hell of a campaign"

Republican Joe O'Dea lost his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet on Tuesday. O'Dea is the owner of Concrete Express which employs 300 people.

 
O'Dea was running for office with no political or public sector experience. During his campaign, O'Dea said his top priorities were debt, inflation and immigration.

Late Tuesday night, and after he called Bennet to congratulate him on his victory, O'Dea called the results a "tough pill to swallow."

O'Dea was gracious in defeat, saying he had stayed true to his beliefs throughout the campaign and the outcome was very disappointing.

"We ran one hell of a campaign. I'm proud of it. I'm proud of all the people that helped me for the past year and a half. And we just came up short. Bottom line is, I'll go back to work sometime this week and get back in my life," he said.

O'Dea didn't answer when asked about whether he has plans to run for office again.