The recount is complete and Democratic Congressman Mike McIntyre has defeated Johnston County state Sen. David Rouzer for the 7th district seat in the U.S. House. The final margin was 654 votes. Here is Sen. Rouzer’s statement:

Now that the recount has been completed and the tally of votes is official, we can move forward satisfied that each vote was counted properly and accurately. I have called Congressman McIntyre to congratulate him on a hard-fought victory, and I wish him well as he joins a new Congress that will be dealing with very difficult issues facing our country.

During the past two weeks, I have been humbled by the outpouring of support from friends, volunteers and supporters around the district and throughout the state. To all of those who have encouraged me to run again in 2014, your sincerity means a lot. With the Christmas Season upon us, I am setting any thoughts of my political future to the side, refocusing on growing my distributorship and consulting businesses while enjoying the farm and the holidays with family and friends.

Finally, to the citizens of Johnston and Wayne County who provided me the privilege and honor to represent them in the North Carolina Senate the past four years, thank you. We have achieved a lot and our work for the betterment of this state and country will continue.”

 

And here is Rep. McIntyre’s statement, which was tweeted last night.

Victory Affirmed! The recount process is over, and the county boards of elections in the 7th district have affirmed our win! Thank you for your prayers and support! Our official press release is below: 

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Wilmington, N.C. — After a re-count of all the votes in North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District race, the boards of elections in all twelve counties have affirmed victory for U.S. Representative Mike McIntyre.

Congressman McIntyre stated, “I am very grateful to have the honor of serving the citizens of of Eastern North Carolina. My commitment has always been to serve the people back home. I have always sought to bring people together – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – to do what’s best for our area. We have many challenges facing our great nation, and I will continue to seek bi-partisan solutions to help create jobs, protect Social Security and Medicare, help our small businesses, farmers, veterans, coastal communities, and always keep our nation safe and strong, and continue my very strong commitment to education! 

McIntyre continued, “I deeply appreciate the love and support of my wife and family, the work of our campaign team, and the hundreds of volunteers who gave so much dedication and determination to help lead us to victory. They poured their hearts into this effort and always kept a positive attitude about achieving victory.

Furthermore, McIntyre said, “I am very grateful for the many friends and supporters who gave of their time, talents, and treasure – and especially their prayers – that sustained our family along this long and tough campaign road. This was a total team victory, and every single person involved played an important role for which my family and I are forever grateful. Our door for public service to help all of Eastern North Carolina will be open to serve, and we will help in any way that we can.”

McIntyre concluded, “I thank Senator Rouzer for his commitment and dedication to public service, and I wish him well in his future endeavors.”