00:00Are we having a good time tonight or what?
00:06North Carolinians, you have made your voices heard and they were loud!
00:16Thank you all so much.
00:18There's a few people I need to thank before anybody else.
00:21To my amazing wife, Kristen.
00:28My wonderful daughters and the rest of my family over here.
00:33I am so grateful for your love and support.
00:37You guys are the light of my life and I could not do it without you.
00:44And to everyone here, including our volunteers, staff and supporters in this campaign,
00:50thank you for everything you did to take this United States Senate seat back for the people of North Carolina.
01:01Now I know this was a hard fought race and I do wish God's blessings for Michael Watley and his
01:08family.
01:09I spoke with him earlier tonight and he acknowledged our victory.
01:17You know, 16 months ago we launched this campaign together.
01:21We knew that for too many people in North Carolina, the middle class was feeling like a distant dream.
01:28We knew that the Washington D.C. insiders and the richest Americans were getting unimaginable wealth at our expense.
01:37We knew that the chaos and corruption in Washington were hurting our people.
01:43Today, you said, this has to stop.
01:50And as your new United States Senator,
02:00I am ready to take that message to Washington
02:04and work to do something about it.
02:10All right, yeah, it would have been easier for us to just complain and watch from the sidelines,
02:17to shake our heads and turn away.
02:20It would have been easier, but it wouldn't have been right.
02:25And I've told you many times on Sundays in church,
02:28I kept coming back to a passage from the book of Luke.
02:31To whom much is given.
02:34Much is required.
02:38And I thought about the many blessings we have in North Carolina.
02:43That I have in my life.
02:45And I knew what was required of me.
02:49And you knew what was required of us.
02:55This campaign was powered by you.
02:58The people of North Carolina.
03:01And together, we're standing up for the people Washington has let down.
03:09The small business owners watching their livelihoods disappear because of tariffs.
03:14The people who need health care and are terrified of seeing the federal government take it away.
03:19The farmers getting crushed by the cost of fertilizer and diesel because of this never-ending war.
03:26The hard-working families and the people on fixed incomes who desperately need their elected officials to recognize how expensive
03:36things are.
03:37And to work to make stuff cost less.
03:43You know, North Carolinians work hard.
03:46And they shouldn't need a lobbyist to unlock the American dream.
03:51That should be the job of the people they elect to represent them.
03:56And North Carolinians, I accept your job offer.
04:04Tonight, guys, we told Washington loud and clear that North Carolinians will always matter more than the billionaires and the
04:13insiders.
04:15Tonight, we showed the country that when everyday people come together, we can make change.
04:25Tonight, we let everyone know that we are just getting started.
04:32The guys, tonight, the campaign ends, but tomorrow, the work of governing begins.
04:44We have to work to make health care, housing, and groceries more affordable.
04:48To end this war.
04:52And stop the pain at the pump.
04:55To protect Medicaid expansion we worked so hard for.
05:00To stop corruption and take on special interests that get rich while people struggle to get by.
05:08To strengthen our democracy and live up to this nation's highest ideals.
05:16Hey guys, it won't be easy, and it won't be simple.
05:20But I know that to whom much is given, much is required.
05:27Guys, in North Carolina, we don't just believe in the promise of tomorrow.
05:32We become it.
05:33First in flight.
05:36First colony to demand independence.
05:40First public university.
05:47We race to lead because we know what hope the future holds.
05:54And when you've got hope, when you've got hope, anything is possible.
06:05Tonight guys, I am deeply grateful for and humbled by the confidence and trust you have once again placed in
06:13me.
06:15I am determined that no matter the challenges that confront me, I will be an independent voice ready to work
06:24with anyone to do what's right for this amazing state that has given me so much.
06:30Guys, I will be your voice.
06:35As your senator, I will always put you the people of North Carolina first.
06:40I will put you before politics.
06:43I will put you before party.
06:45I will put you before power.
06:47I am not going to Washington to be something.
06:51I am going to Washington to do something.
07:01And at the end of the day, I am still a prisoner of hope.
07:07I truly believe that our best days lie ahead.
07:11That we can make the course correction that our great country so badly needs.
07:18That North Carolina and the United States have a future teeming with possibilities.
07:24So, what do you say, North Carolina?
07:32Are you ready for change?
07:36Are you ready to turn things around for hardworking people?
07:42Are you ready to meet the promise of tomorrow?
07:45Yes.
07:47I am too.
07:48May God bless all of you, our country, and the great state of North Carolina.
07:54Thank you very much.
