Terrence Joseph, A Newcomer, Becomes 7th Democrat On November Ballot

ST. CROIX — Terrence D. Joseph, above, a longshot Democratic candidate from this district seemingly coming from nowhere, has emerged as the 7th place victor in Saturday’s primary contest with 762 votes, or 7.05 percent, barely securing his candidacy on the ballot for the General Election in November. Mr. Joseph will face off with the six incumbents, as well as independent candidates vying for a seat, among them Alicia “Chucky” Hansen.

Mr. Joseph, speechless for a few seconds as he took in the moment, started his statement by thanking God.

“Thank God,” he said. “Any other feeling I explain would be me telling you a lie. Thank God.”

He continued: “God had his hand on this whole thing — with the resources, with the people, the whole campaign — nothing but God.”

Mr. Joseph went on to thank his supporters, and acknowledged that his victory tonight was just the beginning of a tough road ahead.

“I would like to thank all the people who came out to vote; who came out to vote for me and others on the Democratic ticket. It is kind of disheartening that not more Democrats came out, however you’ve got to be hopeful that it will be a much better turnout in the General Election,” he said.

Mr. Joseph said he looks forward to working with incumbent Senate Democrats, and again stressed that the work ahead of his campaign was enormous.

“I would be lying if I tell you that there’s not much to do. There’s a whole lot of work left to be done. Seventh is not a showing you want because you have others that are coming on in the General Election. But the encouraging thing is that a lot of Democrats did not come out, so it’s not like a lot of Democrats came out and I made it in 7th place. Not a lot came out and I made it in 7, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Fred Esannason. . . . . . . . . 418 3.87
Terrence D. Joseph . . . . . . . 762 7.05
Troy Mason . . . . . . . . . . 539 4.99
Novelle E. Francis, Jr.. . . . . . 1,464 13.54
Sammuel Sanes . . . . . . . . . 1,271 11.76
Neville James . . . . . . . . . 1,208 11.17
Nellie O’Reilly . . . . . . . . 1,246 11.53
George Moore . . . . . . . . . 360 3.33
Agustin Q. Salas . . . . . . . . 133 1.23
Kenneth L. Gittens . . . . . . . 1,221 11.30
Kurt Vialet. . . . . . . . . . 1,544 14.28
Ignacio Llanos III . . . . . . . 611 5.65
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 33 .31