Blanche Lincoln on Election Night- Nov. 2, 2010

You all are great. I look out at this sea of people and I cannot think of a better group of people that I would rather spend this night with. I promise you.

It has been an incredible journey and I am so bless to have made it, but more than anything in this world you all have to know that I am so bless to have made it with the people who are in this room. You are an incredible group of people.

Today Arkansas people have spoken, and they have spoken and I certainly respect their decision. As you all know, I have already called Congressman Boozman to congratulate him, and certainly pledge my support to help him in anyway in a transition in this office. You all know where my heart is, my state is with the state of Arkansas and its people, always has been and it always will be.

We are going to do everything to make that transition a great one for the state of Arkansas. I want to tell you all, tonight my heart is so full. It is so full of so many blessings, and you are here to share them with me. I am so unbelievably grateful for the opportunity I have had. The honor and the privilege to serve the great state of Arkansas and the people I love so much.

I am so blessed with a wonderful family. Hopefully by now you all know them as your family too. I know you do. But my wonderful husband Steve that has been with me through thick and thin. Have you ever seen two such fine men as these young men, as you have watched them grow? They have grown up before your very eyes, and they’ve grown up before mine, and I cannot thank you all enough for the opportunity to serve.

Throughout my life, I have found my strength in my faith, and it is that tonight. My faith is with me, because you’re with me, and just as I said last night to all of you wonderful people, those that have labored so hard in this campaign, this campaign has been about people. It has been about you, it has been about Arkansas, it has been about people, in this great state and in this great country.

I can’t thank you enough for making it about people. You didn’t make it about the anger or the fear, you didn’t make it about the ugly attitudes. I’ve watched every one of you out there on this campaign, and when somebody was ugly, or somebody was afraid or they were angry, you treated them with the utmost of dignity and respect. You answered their questions, and you worked harder. That’s what our campaign has been about, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way than to have it the way that we have had it.

I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by such a loving staff. A wonderful, wonderful senate staff who are here tonight. My senate Agriculture committee staff, who are just a group of dynamos. I’m just so proud of each and every one of you, all the way that you’ve worked so hard.

I want to thank our campaign staff, the senate staff, the Ag staff, and our campaign staff, which has just worked tirelessly over these last 20 months. Who have put together an incredible campaign of outreach. I thank our volunteers, those who have labored so much. Whether it’s here in the campaign, both ours and in a coordinated effort.

I want to say a special thanks to President Bill Clinton who was such a trooper and was so wonderful, what a great friend and such a great leader, and what a great son of Arkansas. The special Arkansas travelers that came out and spent the time on the road with us. It was a fun time, and we did a great job.

I have no regrets, well I should take that back. I have one regret, the only regret I have this evening is that I hope that I haven’t disappointed you all. That’s the only regret I might have.

I take great pride in the public service that I have offered. When I first went to Congress in 1992 in that election, I went there with the attitude of wanting to create greater civility, greater common ground, and greater results for the people of Arkansas, particularly in the 1st district then, and then 98 in the Senate. I want people to come together, and to work hard, to make our country strong, to make our state strong, and I worked hard in reaching out to others, to find that middle ground to be that common sense, and to try to make our nation great.

I still don’t think the answers, they cannot be in the extremes. They have to be in the middle. They have to be where we work together to find the solutions that we need. But let me tell you folks, We left it all in the field. All out there on that field. We gave it everything we had in this campaign, and I could not be more proud of you all, and what we did. We worked hard, and we made a difference.

So I just wanted to thank each and every one of you all from the bottom of my heart. You should know that there are many chapters in all of our books. I have had a wonderful time in all of these chapters of my book, and it’s been because of the great people of Arkansas. It’s been because of you, so many of you all that have travelled in those chapters with me, all along from the very beginning. There are more chapters to write, and I look forward to it as I said before.

My faith has always been what carries me, it has carried me tonight, and it will carry me tomorrow, because I know there’s much more. I asked the lord to bless me in this campaign, to make sure I was where I needed to be, to ensure I was doing what He wanted me to do, and I know that He will.

I thank you all again for being here tonight, I thank you for each and every day and for all that you have done. You have meant so much to me, I am so blessed to have had each and every one of you all in my life. Let me make sure that you all know, that you’re not getting out of my life. That you’re all very much attached, and you’re gonna be there for me.

So thank you all for the opportunity, please help me as we do go forward in all of our lives, and what we do. To bring people together instead of tearing them apart, instead of creating the kind of division and the kind of anger and fear that has existed out there that many of us have seen.

Please, if you do nothing else for me, walk away from this campaign proud of what we have stood for. I know that you will.

Thank you all so much, and God bless you.

Speech from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Mh9MRRdWk.