<p>You haven’t given many details (including whether this is high school, college, or what), but I’m going to come at this from a slightly different angle than most of the commenters. People have already amply covered the fact that a title by itself is not that meaningful, and that if you care about the cause there are other ways to get involved (both of which are great points).</p>
<p>I ran for student government president at my college a few years back. I was the incumbent VP. I lost. At the time, it broke my heart. It felt like all the previous efforts, that I had put so much into, had been rejected as not good enough, like I was being told that I was a failure. I took it quite personally, thought I had done a good job as VP, couldn’t understand why people had seemingly turned on me.</p>
<p>If this is a group/cause into which he’s already invested a lot, whether as an officer or as a rank-and-file member, he may feel the same way, like the entire group just turned around and told him that he was a failure and that they don’t think his efforts count for anything. And in that case, that he doesn’t need a title to be useful, while true (and something he may appreciate later), is beside the point. The point is the rejection.</p>
<p>What is NOT beside the point: Campaigning is hard and stressful. People don’t always see what you’ve done that is useful, because the bad attracts more attention than the good. However much it feels like it, a vote against you is not necessarily contempt of your efforts, and if you keep on doing right by your group/cause, you’ll get respect among those who know the score. Don’t lose sight of why you care about this group/cause. And, it really will feel better eventually.</p>
<p>Also, this:</p>
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