Cook was on the road Tuesday night as the polls closed, on her way to visit her son who works for the U.S. Forest Service in Northern California before heading to a League of Cities meeting in Lake Tahoe.
“We’ve always focused on November, and we’ll continue to focus on November,” said Cook on her cellphone from the road. “We’re happy we’re past the June primaries, and we’ll continue to gain momentum toward our ultimate goal.”
Kalmick watched presidential primary results on television with roommates at his home in Huntington Beach and kept an eye on local election results online as early returns showed sparse support for his congressional bid.
“I’m very disappointed in voter turnout today...” Kalmick said. “We had no support from the Democratic party or any party activists, but we had a very good showing for no support — we’re optimistic because it kind of shows what you can do with no support. [Cook] had all the name recognition.”
Kalmick, a Seal Beach native and business technology consultant, would have been the youngest representative in Congress if he won the general election against incumbent Dana Rohrabacher.
Kalmick said he planned to stay involved in Democratic politics and would seek office again — possibly even making a bid for Cook’s seat on the Huntington Beach City Council this summer.
“This was a fantastic experience,” Kalmick said. “I loved meeting people and hearing different points of view. I love learning things and it’s something I’m interested in that can make a larger impact on things.”
Cook said building name recognition with voters would be her biggest obstacle in the November general election.
