Knox County State’s Attorney candidate Jeremy Karlin announced his concession from the race earlier today.
Karlin tells WGIL he made the decision after reviewing voting results and information regarding mail-in and provisional ballots that show he would be unable to overcome the 60-70 votes that he trails to incumbent John Pepmeyer.
“We decided at this point that it would be unlikely for me to attain enough votes to make up the difference,” Karlin says. “So, rather than waiting for weeks for the canvas, I thought that rather than waiting and letting the voters sit in uncertainty it would be best to concede today.”
Karlin, who began his campaign in July of last year, says he plans to take some time for other parts of life for awhile.
“I’m going to focus on re-connecting with my friends and family, I’m going to continue my work on the (Galesburg) City Council,” Karlin says. “I’ve been very involved in the community and I’ll continue my commitment to the things I’ve been doing.”
Karlin adds he plans to advocate for a number of Democratic party candidates including 74th District Candidate Bill Butts, Knox County Coroner Mark Thomas and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.
UPDATED AT 3:27 p.m. on 03/17/2016 to reflect comments from Jeremy Karlin.
