Kurowycky-Komarnyckyj loses maiden bid for seat in Arizona House of Representatives

by Andrew Nynka

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Ukrainian American Oksana Kurowycky-Komarnyckyj lost her race to win a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives.

Following the election, Ms. Komarnyckyj sent an e-mail message to supporters and friends announcing the results of the vote and thanking her campaign supporters for their help. "I am overwhelmed by your outpouring of support and encouraging words. Thank you so very much," she said. "By now, most of you know that I lost the election on Tuesday. The vote reflected party registration numbers and the Democrats had the clear advantage."

With nearly all of the ballots counted, Democrats David Lujan and Kyrsten Sinema took 17,810 and 17,314 votes, respectively. Ms. Komarnyckyj and fellow Republican Tara Roesler took 11,126 and 11,336 votes, respectively. Ballots cast prior to election day on November 2 were still trickling in but were not expected to change the final outcome.

"At this moment, I am regrouping. I am not sure at this stage what my next step will be," Ms. Komarnyckyj said, referring to her political future. But she said it was an honor to run and said she would continue with a future in politics. "I just don't know in what way."

The district lines in her race heavily favored the Democratic candidates, Ms. Komarnyckyj said. "If it's the same map [in 2006] it's a suicide race. You run a race you believe you can win and we thought we could have won this race," she said.

She also noted how much her family supported her effort and the effect they had on her constituents. One woman told Ms. Komarnyckyj's mother after voting, "I voted for your daughter because it's obvious how proud you are of her," Ms. Komarnyckyj said.

"It really impacted me that people had such faith and trust in me," said Ms. Komarncykyj, who also noted the positive tone of the campaign. "People were very gracious - it was a nice race," she said.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, November 14, 2004, No. 46, Vol. LXXII

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