Late into the night, U.S. House of Representatives 15th District candidate David Gill sat crouched over a computer, his head on his fist, continually refreshing election results on his computer screen.

He did not like what he saw.

The emergency room doctor-turned-politician fell to Republican incumbent Tim Johnson, who picked up 63 percent of the vote to Gill’s 37 with 84 percent of precincts reporting, at press time.

Johnson said he believed voters re-elected him for a third term because of his 33 years of political experience serving the area.

He also credited his “tremendous staff” and the personalized service they provide to local constituents.

Gill, for his part, tried to paint a positive light on the results.

“Obviously, this is disappointing,” said Gill. “But I’m very proud of the effort everybody put forth and flattered by the excitement it generated.”

Johnson, who has never lost an election, congratulated Gill for a “great” campaign that focused on issues instead of personal attacks.

“David Gill is one of the finest people I’ve ever run against,” Johnson said.

Gill said he was flattered by Johnson’s words of praise and credited him with running a very dignified campaign.

“He’s demonstrated he knows how to win elections,” Gill said.

Gill was proud of a campaign that began as a grassroots effort, he said. It ended with Gill’s campaign staff piled into volunteer campaign treasurer Jessica LaRosa’s living room, groaning as each new election result scrolled across the TV screen.

His three children sprawled across the floor, entertaining themselves by playing card games before dropping off to sleep shortly before midnight.

As more and more precincts reported, Gill walked through the room shaking hands with the party guests, many of whom were University students.

Gill’s campaign manager, John Laesch, said he had quit his job as a U.S. Navy intelligence analyst when the U.S. invaded Iraq and began working on political campaigns. He said he was disappointed, but thought the election brought hope for the future.

“We were going up against a career politician with a guy who hadn’t debated since high school,” said Laesch. “I think we can look at this as doing push-ups for 2006, whether it’s with Dr. Gill or another candidate.”

Laesch, now without a job or a campaign to run, said that he would “just wake up tomorrow and figure out what to do.”

Gill said he was unsure whether his political career was over.

“I don’t know where I’m going from here,” Gill said. “I’ll just have to think about things. In the short term, I’m just going back to the emergency room.”

Johnson will head back to Washington, saying he planned to continue serving the community to the best of his ability. He would focus on increased employment, health care and security, he said.

For Gill, such issues are out of his hands. As his party began to break up around 11:00 p.m., Gill thanked his supporters, who gave him a large round of applause.

“You guys do rock,” Gill said.

“Not as much as the doc,” a supporter replied from the crowd.