Gard Alludes to Nasty Battle in Concession Speech

During his concession speech, Republican John Gard alluded to the nasty battle between the two camps, and the harsh words that were exchanged between himself and Dem Steve Kagen in the waning days of the campaign.

"I'm sure there are some things that were said along the way that he wishes weren't said, and there's some things along the way that I wish weren't said," Gard told supporters.

"Despite some of the things that were said about me and the way I conduct myself, my family and I have served northern Wisconsin with honor, with distinction and with integrity."

Gard called himself one of the "luckiest people on earth" for all the things he was able to accomplish as speaker of the Wisconsin Assemby and said Kagen has a full plate ahead of him in Congress, which is now controlled by Democrats.

Gard's 11:30 p.m. speech followed an earlier concession by fellow Republican and joint election night party mate Mark Green.

As polls closed, Kagen held a small lead and maintained that lead throughout the night, but cautiously waited until after midnight to deliver his victory speech.

With most precincts reporting, a CNN chart showed Kagen taking a majority of the counties in the 8th district.

Included in his haul were Brown, Outagamie and Door Counties, three areas rich with independent votes. With most of the north half of the district going for Gard and the south going to Kagen, observers calculated that these districts would likely swing the election.

-- By Joe Ahlers and Alec Loftus