"As someone who believes in democracy and our political processes, I phoned and congratulated Todd McClay and the National Party with their strong win. "New Zealanders have voted and I respect that."
But, he said he was buoyed by the more than 10,000 votes he received.
"To every person that had the confidence in me to do the job, I thank you - your support lifts me up. "I still maintain that Rotorua needs growth and from that growth, jobs because too many of our shops and local businesses are shutting down and too many of our people are moving overseas for opportunities.
"Now that Rotorua has three MPs looking after us, I look forward to watching them work together to solve the various problems that we, as a region, face."
He said he would take some time out during the next few weeks so he could gather his thoughts.
"Running for Parliament takes a lot out of you.
"I'm not sure what lies ahead for me, but as an educated young Maori man with a long bucket list and an incredibly supportive partner, I know we'll be okay."
He said he was proud of what he had achieved during his election campaign, saying he had also learned a lot from the experience.
"It got attention from all around the country.
"My motto all along was to win, but to have fun doing it. I didn't get the win this time, but we sure had fun doing it.
"It would have been nothing without commitment from my supporters, sign-wavers, pamphlet deliverers, volunteers and most of all a tight campaign team."
Mr Coffey said he and his partner Tim would take a brief holiday and return to Rotorua soon.
"We have our house and family here and have no plans on moving away."
