Twain Harte, CA…After a long, hard-fought campaign, Dr. Bob Derlet conceded defeat late Tuesday evening to Rep. Tom McClintock in the 4th CA Congressional District election. Dr. Derlet challenged Rep. McClintock to “work with those of us who didn’t vote for him, to do together all we can to improve the lives of everyone in the 4th Congressional District.” Full text of the statement by Dr. Derlet is below:

“Together, we have built a campaign for Congress for which we can feel great pride. Sure, I had hoped that I would be giving a victory speech rather than conceding defeat. But I am grateful, fulfilled, thankful, and inspired.

“I appreciate having had the opportunity given to me by the primary voters who chose to make me the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party in this important, noble effort to change the composition of Congress, at least in California’s fourth district.

“I am fulfilled by the experiences I have had traveled up and down this immense, scenic, resource-rich district–300 miles long, from Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite into Fresno County; a district populated by neighborly, decent, caring and hard-working people.

“I am thankful to so many people for their support, their advice, their contributions, their energy, their commitment. At the top of that list is my lovely, brilliant, determined and dear wife, Mikla. And I thank my daughters and my grandchildren for their love and support, and for being a constant reminder of why our mission to make ours a better country and a more livable world is so important. I am also thankful to the many, many people who have worked tirelessly and brilliantly to make this campaign possible, and that starts with my campaign manager, Kate Scott.

“I am inspired by what I have learned over the past year or more, the determination of so many citizens to make our area, our state, and our country as good as they possibly can be. I am inspired by the patriotism of our people, their commitment to one another, and their belief that we should not, indeed, we cannot give up on the values and the mission of this campaign. The work doesn’t end tonight, or next year or the year after that. It continues and I plan to keep at it, regardless of tonight’s results.

“I congratulate Congressman McClintock on his win tonight, and I invite him to work with those of us who didn’t vote for him, to do together all we can to improve the lives of everyone in the 4th Congressional District.

“Thank you, again, I appreciate all of you, I care about all of you, and I look forward to carrying on that which we started in this campaign.”