BUFFALO, NY -- Despite coming up short in the race for Congress in New York's 27th district, Nate McMurray wants to look at all of his options before making any official announcement.
Rep. Chris Collins had slightly more votes than McMurray did on election night, and there were still thousands of absentee ballots and affidavits to count, with Erie County being the last county to count their votes on Tuesday.
While the race did tighten after McMurray picked up roughly 1,400 votes through the counting of absentees in the eight counties comprising the 27th, it still left him about 1,500 short of flipping the outcome of the unofficial count from November 6.
"It appears that it's mathematically impossible for Mr. McMurray to make up the difference and change the outcome," said the republican Erie County Election's Commissioner.
McMurray says that he will wait until after the Thanksgiving weekend to make any decisions. You can read his full statement below:
“I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this campaign -- my family, our great campaign staff, and the countless volunteers and supporters from 8 counties and across the country, of every political persuasion, who stood with us to fight like hell for integrity and accountability in Western New York. From the start, people on both sides of the aisle doubted us; and the fact that we're even having this conversation proves that we are boldly challenging party politics and have already made tremendous headway.
“Today, the Erie County Board will complete their counting of votes. Right now, it appears that the difference is less than 0.5%, a margin that would, in many counties and states, trigger an automatic recount. We will confer with our attorneys and review the numbers to determine our next course of action. We have seen extensive irregularities in the voting process, especially pertaining to absentee ballots, and there are issues that need to be addressed not only for this election but for all elections in the future to ensure voters are not disenfranchised and that every voice is heard. With this election, we are setting the stage for years to come. My staff and I are planning to spend some long-overdue time with our families over the Thanksgiving weekend. We will announce our plans for the future on Monday. Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the overwhelming support and words of encouragement. We are grateful to each and every one of you.”