MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills says Republicans will “win this state down the road,” despite his landslide loss to Democrat Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota.

Klobuchar was elected to a second term in Congress on Tuesday. In his concession speech, Bills called Klobuchar “one of the toughest senators” to beat.

Bills is a state representative from Rosemount and a high school economics teacher. He promised to be in his first hour class on Wednesday, proclaiming that “Republicans don’t take days off.”

Exit polls showed nearly one-fourth of Republicans didn’t back Bills in the race.

Klobuchar said she won with hard work, optimism a forward-looking approach.

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