Joe Alexander Jr., Saint Anselm College senior, ended his State Representative race with a 135-vote loss against Democrat incumbent Christy Bartlett. Alexander managed to take 47.6% of the votes as reported by the New York Times. After expecting a loss due to historical preference of Democratic nominees in the city of Concord, Alexander, Republican, was surprised and pleased with the results of his campaign efforts.

Alexander tells The Crier, “If I didn’t win, it’s not because I didn’t try. I can sleep at night knowing I did the best I could to win.”

Alexander stood outside of Broken Ground School of Concord, New Hampshire for 13 hours to bring one last call of attention to his campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives for Merrimack District 19.

When the polls opened at 7 AM on November 8, there were 29,603 registered voters in the city of Concord as confirmed by the city clerk. Of these voters, 1,092 of them were registered Republicans within Ward 10, where Joe’s Merrimack County voters reside.

When asked why he thought he may have earned so many votes against his opponent, he noted that his age was believed to play a large role in his successes. Being 21, Alexander was able to appeal to a group of voters that has never been strongly represented before: college students. With a rise of technology and increasing talk of the university system, his young age and relevance gave him the opportunity to market his refreshing opinions and policy ideas. His campaign for a “new generation” of Republicans was predicted to resonate with both liberal and conservative voters, putting him somewhere in the middle between traditional republican views and the views of Bartlett, his opponent.

Alexander tells The Crier “[Bartlett] and I disagree on a lot of things, but we both share a passion for helping people.”

Alexander recalls knocking on approximately 1,500 doors during his campaign. He noticed most residents were surprised by  his age.

Alexander told The Crier, “Even though I’m young, I have something to bring to the table and people acknowledged that.”

Although he began his campaign later than most candidates, he does not feel that he would change a thing about it. As previously reported in the Crier, Alexander financed his own efforts and praised his support system of his family and friends. He noted that his mother and father were by his side through his whole campaign, including those long hours outside of Broken Ground School on Election Day. He praised them for their hard work and assistance.

When asked if he had plans to run for a seat in the House of Representatives of New Hampshire again in the future, Alexander joked, “My signs are in storage.”

At this point in his senior year, he is just thrilled to have some time to himself.

When asked about his plans going forward Alexander told The Crier, “This semester I think I tried to grow up too fast and do too many things at once.”

He looks forward to relaxing and doing regular, college student activities before he graduates in the spring.