DeWine reflects, but only a little

Margaret McGurk reporting from Columbus:

From Mike DeWine's brief news conference after his concession:

He declined to assess what caused the mortal wounds to his race. "The post-mortem of the campaign will be to others to do -- and probably me, later on."

He did acknowledge the anti-Republican mood that gripped Ohio. "I saw the problems, I saw what was going on on the state level and the national level. I knew all that. But I'm an optimist.

"The climate was difficult. We could not cut through that."

He spoke of meeting people on the campaign trail who told him they liked him and approved of his work in the Senate, but would not vote for him this year. "That happened over and over. That tells you a lot about this race." He declined to elaborate. "You can fill in the blanks."

As for his next step, he said, "I don't know." However, he noted, "I am 59. I have a lot of energy. ... My wife, Fran, says it would probably not be a good idea for me to retire. We will see. Time will tell." He later added that he would be interested in work that reflects his interest in child welfare.

As for leaving the Senate behind, he said, "I have loved every job I have had. Every single one of them. I don't think I wasted a day in this job."