11/03/2021
There are a lot of people I need to thank for all the help and support for this campaign. I'll get my top two biggest supporters out of the way first: my parents Lisa and Kent Leonard have been die-hard supporters and this campaign could not exist without them literally (and, let's be real, biologically 🤣). A huge shout out to my siblings Jacob, Jaron, Jackson, and Julie for their help (and their patience for taking those obnoxious family photos we thought we never had to do anymore).
There are a lot of political allies that have mentored me and given me a heck of a lot of advice along the way, so I won't be able to label all of you here (apologies in advance). Daniel gave me a near-winning strategy that I will 100% replicate in the future. I absolutely need to thank Joe Baldacci for all of his advice, friendship, and his willingness to deal with me as I deliver ferocious passenger rail testimonies to the MDOT. Jeff Kirlin has been a staunch supporter right from the beginning; whether it was giving advice to shoving his camera in my face, he has been unapologetically been a major help during his free time when he isn't shutting down businesses 🤣.
There are a lot of people throughout this campaign that I really need to thank and give their own posts. Everyone who donated to the campaign, everyone who knocked on doors, everyone shared the campaign through social media, . . . those memes that I can never officially endorse or share but crack me up (I see you Bangor H.S. students 😉), it has all been overwhelming the amount of support that has been given my way. But the last person I need to give a personal shoutout to is Dr. Mark Doty; his final day living in Maine before moving to Texas to retire, we went out to breakfast (and he may deny this but absolutely do not believe him), he grabbed both of my hands, and told me: "Joseph, if you don't run for political office I will be very disappointed in you." So if anyone has an issue with me running for office again, please forward your complaints to Mark XD.
Finally, I will end with this: I won't lie, it definitely sucks losing only by double digits. I could kick myself and nitpick what I did wrong, but I am here to tell you all already that I am absolutely not done fighting. Anyone who knows me will not be shocked to hear that I am already gearing up for the next campaign. I knocked on over 2500 doors, talked to over 1000 voters, and gained many miles on my shoes. Next time the mileage will be even longer. I walk the walk, and I will continue to do so with my next venture. The name Joe Leonard is not gonna stale any time soon.
Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.
See you next time.
