Victory Speech - Nov. 4, 2014

Thank you all so much for being here tonight. It is truly an honor to stand before you tonight. No longer as the democratic nominee, but as your newly elected congresswoman. My friends, we did it, and there’s no stopping us now.

I want to first of all thank God for allowing me to expand my territory, and then I want to thank my family. To my mom who’s unable to be here tonight with me, mother you taught me the importance of a quality education, and you put me on the pathway to where I am today. By now, most of you probably know my story. My mother worked hard, she cleaned other folk’s houses, so I wouldn’t have to. But you know what she taught me invaluable lesson, of keeping a tidy house. So I’m going to Washington to clean the people’s house.

I want to thank my daughter Janelle, my son Billy, my son-in-law Ty, you have always been by my side. I wouldn’t have made it through this campaign without each of you. To my grandchildren, you heard from the (inaudible), to Billy Eugene III, to Miracle to Joselyn, I’m going to ask them to just step forward. My mother taught me, and I taught your mother and your father, and tonight I’m showing all of you and all of the children out there that where you start out in life, doesn’t have to determine how far you can go.

You know, I come from humble beginnings. I see some of our other family out there tonight. But I never let those humble beginnings define me or limit my potential. My mother made sacrifices so that I could get a good education. We are on this stage tonight, because of her sacrifices. So you can rest assured, to all of my grandchildren that I’m going to fight for all of our children. No matter where they come from. To ensure that they have access to a quality, affordable education, because education is the pathway to the middle class.

To you, my supporters and my volunteers, who picked up the phones and knocked on the doors, donated the time and money and told everybody you knew, that Alma Adams is absolutely the one voice. I could not have done it without you.

To Mark Jewel with NCAE, to all of the teachers across our state, and I’m proud that my daughter, is in the classroom to. To the students and to the nurses, to the laborers, to Janet Combs, to Planned Parenthood and EMILY’s List, and to the countless others, thank you for sticking with me. Because you know that I’m going to be your voice for the issues that matter most, to middle class families, to workers and to women. To my church family, Reverend White. To my Bennet Belles, and my Bennet family. To my A&T Aggies and my Aggie Family. To everybody else who’s been with me for more than 30 years, I thank you.

You’ve been with me every step of the way. Ever since I started out on the Greensboro City School Board, fighting for our children, and then onto the City Council. Where we fought for affordable housing for these past 20 years, in the North Carolina General Assembly. Where we fought, and fought hard, for many of our community, and the people of North Carolina. I also want to take a moment to thank my opponent, Mr. Vince Coakley, for entering this race. As a seasoned public servant, I respect anybody who puts their hat into the race, and it works out sometimes that some of us have more hats than others.

The journey tonight, from school board to Congress, has been the longest of my 30 year political career. When I started out on this journey, 18 months ago, long enough to have two babies, I’m glad that I’m not able now, but I said that I would not be outworked. But if you remember, we did what they said couldn’t be done back in May. Winning a 7 way primary without a runoff, and tonight we once again show that we have turned this vote out. Finishing with more than 80% of the vote. Tonight marks my 16^th election, and on this night, I’m proud to say together we’ve made history. I want to thank you tonight for your vote, I want to thank you for your prayers and confidence, and I want to thank you for your continued support, now it’s time to get to work. And there is not no stopping me now.