Republican Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne spent his final hours as a gubernatorial candidate Saturday night among friends, family and a few supporters adorned in emerald green. 

His watch party at Baton Rouge’s Capitol Park Museum came to an end when he took the stage and reflected on his campaign with gratitude.  

“I know it’s a bitter pill to take when you’ve worked so hard and have such high expectations,” Dardenne said. “But I want to tell you how proud I am of everybody who’s helped out in the campaign.” 

Cheerful supporters held up campaign signs reading ‘THANKS JAY!’ as Dardenne continued with hopeful remarks for the future.

“I hope the prayers of all of us in Louisiana will be with whoever is elected to be our next governor,” Dardenne said. “We have many, many challenges that we have to face and I want to wish the best to one of two guys who’s going to be selected to do it.”

Out of the four Louisiana gubernatorial candidates, Dardenne came in last with roughly 15 percent of the vote.

Director of Digital and Special Projects for Dardenne’s campaign Ali Akbar said he believes lack of funds contributed to the loss.

“David Vitter and his Super PAC had $10 million and political science won,” Akbar said.

While Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards and Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter will advance to a runoff next month, Dardenne said his plans for the future do not involve campaigning.

Despite his disinterest in pursuing any elected office, Dardenne said he will continue to be a voice in the fight for higher education.

“I’ll be very involved in trying to advocate for higher education with whoever the next governor is,” Dardenne said. “In order to recognize the importance of that investment.”