Ohio Congressional candidate Derek Myers—a known MAGA loyalist—became the subject of widespread mockery after he accidentally sent out a bizarre pre-recorded concession video to supporters four hours before polls closed, and then sent an awkward follow-up email after the blunder.
Myers' concession email, accompanied by a video message, was sent out at 3:19 p.m., a full four hours before Ohio's official closing time of 7:30 p.m., as reported by the Columbus Dispatch.
In the video, Myers acknowledged the expected outcome of the race, extending his congratulations to the "congressman-elect" and expressing his commitment to rallying behind the victor to support former President Donald Trump's reelection bid in November.
He said:
“Tonight did not go as we had hoped, but as we know, this race is decided in the primary so I want to give my congratulations to the congressman-elect. I’m looking forward to uniting behind him and working with him to get President Trump re-elected into the White House in November and evicting Joe Biden.”
"Listen, I'm in my 30s and as I told everyone on this campaign trail, if I don't win this race, that's okay because I've got 30 or 50 more years left and that's if I live a good life."
"I'm looking forward to staying in the arena of Ohio politics and I'm looking forward to working with all the Republicans in Ohio to make America great again."
You can hear his concession in the video below.
You can see his original message below.
Derek Myers
However, just 10 minutes later, another email was dispatched, this time urgently instructing recipients to disregard the earlier concession message, as detailed by The Daily Beast.
You can see his follow-up message below.
Derek Myers
Myers clarified in a press release that he had prepared both victory and defeat statements for the pivotal night and inadvertently sent the wrong one due to the "impotent" nature of the evening:
“The concession email was sent in error as it was being loaded into the media distribution portal, as a draft, in the event of a loss. Accidentally, the ‘send now’ button we clicked instead of ‘draft.’ The winning email was also drafted, but was not sent in error, thankfully."
"Anyone who works in communications knows it’s not uncommon to have speeches and releases prepared in the event of each outcome, especially on such an impotent [sic] night. It’s simply good strategy."
One observer pointed out that when Myers recorded his concession video, he was actually standing "in an empty room" and was pretending he was "answering an interview question from the local news" while there was "party noise in the background."
And yet Myers posted the same video—strangely without party sound effects—to his official social media account along with the following message:
"In elections there is inevitably a winner and those who go on to fight another day. I don't view this outcome as a defeat; rather, it's an enriching experience for which I am genuinely grateful."
"Entering my thirties, I've consistently conveyed to individuals along this campaign journey that failing to secure victory in this race wouldn't deter me. With potentially several more decades ahead of me, I eagerly anticipate remaining engaged in Ohio politics and collaborating with fellow Republicans to foster progress in our state."
You can see his post below.
The mockery was swift.
Myers did indeed end up on the losing side, ranking last among 11 candidates with a mere 1.5% of the vote. The Republican primary was clinched by David Taylor, who will now square off against Samantha Meadows, the Democratic nominee, in the upcoming November election.
Ohio’s second district is typically seen as a Republican stronghold, ensuring Taylor's likely victory in the November House election. In the 2022 elections, Republican Brad Wenstrup secured re-election to the second district with an impressive 74.5% of the vote. However, Wenstrup has announced his retirement at the end of his current term.
