Bob Brown’s ambition to serve as state representative was dashed Tuesday night as Republican Incumbent Bob Pritchard won what appeared early on to be a close election.

“From the very beginning, I considered it a dream just to be a candidate,” Brown said. “I believe that my candidacy contributed to the overall development of the Democratic Party in DeKalb.”

Lights were bright and spirits were exceptionally high as members of DeKalb County’s Democratic Party gathered at Hopkins Park to await election results.

“The level of enthusiasm is far beyond anything I’ve ever seen before,” said Steven Slack, vice-chair of the DeKalb County Democratic Party. “There’s a real organization now that didn’t exist before.”

The atmosphere in the cramped room, which at times reached its capacity, was charged with anticipation as attendants socialized and tracked the latest returns.

Brown took an early lead at one point in the night and said he was pleased with how his campaign had been running so far.

“We’re doing better than I expected at this point in the race,” Brown said at the time. “These results exceed my wildest expectations at this point.”

The Brown campaign had been writing letters, organizing parades, holding fundraisers and posting fliers for the past several months, all in the hopes of winning the election.

“I think our chances of winning are good,” Nancy McMenamin, a volunteer for the Brown campaign, said early in the night. “There has been a good response lately.”

Brown also had a lot of support from DeKalb area residents.

“I’ve been impressed with his presence in the community,” said DeKalb resident and NIU alumna April Arrecis. “He’s been very visible.”

Despite all the support for Brown, as the night went on the room began to lose its joyous atmosphere as attendants realized it was likely Brown wouldn’t win.

By the end of the night, Brown was unable to hold onto his lead and suffered defeat by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent with 88 percent of precincts reporting. Brown got 17,569 votes, while Pritchard received 22,978 votes.

Brown said he still plans to continue his role in public service and possibly work in government or higher education.

Despite the loss, members of Brown’s party are still proud of him.

“I think Mr. Brown did a tremendous job when you consider how long Mr. Pritchard has been in office,” Slack said. “It says a lot about how people view Mr. Pritchard.”

Others were also positive about the election.

“This has been a fantastic election for Democrats,” said Eileen Dubin, county chair of DeKalb’s Democratic Party. “Bob Brown has done a wonderful job for us.”