ME-Gov: Cutler Concedes in Close Race for Governor

From the Portland Press Herald, Eliot Cutler's Statement on Concession:

At noon today I will announce at a press conference here in Portland that I have spoken with Mayor Paul LePage and congratulated him on his victory. The results that are available to us this morning are unofficial and informal, but I believe that it is unlikely that there will be a material change in the outcome.

Although we all will await the official tabulations by the Secretary of State, I do not want to make it more difficult for Paul to assemble the team he needs to govern the State of Maine and to prepare a budget for the next biennium. In all likelihood, he will be the next governor for all the people of the State of Maine, and all of us who love the State of Maine should give him our support as he sets out on a difficult journey.

I am unendingly grateful to you for your investment in the effort we have made and your support for our vision for Maine.

I am proud of the fact that we came from literally zero to just a few thousand votes short of winning in a mere 16 months. And I am prouder still that we stuck a dagger in the heart of negative campaigning in the State of Maine, that we never ran a single negative attack ad nor made a single personal attack, that we withstood an onslaught of lies, slander and deception directed against us and that we emerge from this race with our heads held high and our integrity intact. You should be proud of your participation in this campaign, and I hope that you are, as I am. I am indebted to you and grateful to you.