Victory Speech - Nov. 6, 2018

Can we get everybody? This is what happens when you have ten grandchildren and a big family – it takes a bigger stage! What were we thinking here? Do we have everybody up?

I love Iowa! Go Iowa! Thank you! Thank you so much. [cheers and applause]

Thanks for hanging in and staying late, and thank you, Iowa! What an honor! [cheers and applause]

Amazing, amazing honor. And I have so many people I have to thank, so you're gonna have to bear with me.

First of all, I want to thank my family that's standing behind me. My husband, Kevin, who has been a saint and a trooper through all of this – yay, the First Dude! [applause]

Our three daughters and of course our son in laws, and we've got – Avery is representing the ten grandchildren so she's got – this is homework for school, so way to go, Avery. [applause]

I have my mom and dad here. And I talk a lot about being raised right in a rural community and I'm so, so blessed and lucky to have Mom and Dad with us tonight. So thank you and love you. [applause]

Those of you that know my dad – the sign guy – you know he actually has a better network than I do, so it's actually really good to have him on board.

You know, there's no way you do this job without the support of family and I just want to tell them from the bottom of my heart how grateful I am for their support, encouragement and really even at times when I didn't know if I could go on, they'd lift me up and keep me going and they definitely keep me grounded, so I am very, very, very blessed. So let's give them one more round of applause, okay. [applause]

I also want to thank an incredible GOP team. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg. I talk a lot about team and partners, and I got the best darn lieutenant governor in the country! [applause] I am so proud to have him as a partner in this administration. I am looking forward to serving the next four years with Adam.

Mike Naig, secretary of agriculture. [applause] Paul Pate. Mary Mosiman. Jeremy Davis. Chairman Kauffman, where are you? Yay! Where is he? Whoo! Co-chair Cody Hoefert, Rod Blum, Congressman King, Chris Peters and Congressman Young. And Speaker Upmeyer and Majority Leader Whitver – congratulations on your wins tonight.

You know, it was a mixed blessing tonight. We had a lot of people on the ballot and we had some great victories, but I just want to say a great big heartfelt thank you to everybody that put their name on the ballot and worked hard over the past year to have the opportunity to represent Iowans. It's not easy and they put their heart and soul into it, so God bless all of you that put your name on the ballot and worked hard to run. Let's give them a big round of applause. [applause]

My official staff – I know a lot of you are here. I want to just say thank you for everything that you've done. All right! I have an amazing team.

And to my campaign team – you know, it's true we had a few polls where we were down but we never gave up and this team never let up and we…thank you. I owe you a big, big thanks. [applause]

And most importantly to our volunteers, and I see so many of you out there. You delivered every day, rain or shine. You knocked doors, you made calls, you put up signs, you brought your friends and your families to the polls. So I want to tell you, this victory is your victory. Thank you for working so hard on behalf of this team. David Barker – whoo! [applause]

I also want to thank Fred Hubbell. He called to wish me best. It was a hard-fought campaign. He wished me well. I told him I looked forward to sitting down with him. He represented a lot of Iowans across this state and a lot of issues that are important to them, and I think that this is an opportunity for us to both sit down and work together and make sure that we can maybe find some common ground to address some of the issues that were important to the people that he was out there fighting for. [applause] You know, we both ran for governor wanting the best of our state and so I wish him and his family well.

And to all Iowans, no matter who you might have supported or endorsed in this election, I want you to know that I want to be your governor. I'm running to represent all Iowans in every single corner of this state and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do that. [applause]

I think that's one thing that we can agree on is we want Iowa to be the very best it can be, and we want Iowa's success to reach into every single corner of this state.

Every day in this campaign I talked a lot about why I love this state, and truly this is a state that's given so much to my family and me. I'm a fifth-generation Iowan, and Kevin and I chose to live, work and raise our girls in a state that we love. And it is a place where a small-town girl from rural Iowa – daughter of a factory worker and a farmer and a mom who chose to stay home and raise her family – could one day become the first female governor of the state of Iowa. [applause]

And now I get to say – I'm very proud to say – that I will be the first elected female governor of Iowa! Whoo! [applause]

Our state has so much to be proud of. We have a great economy – one of the strongest in the country – our wages are going up, our taxes are going down, unemployment is at a record low, the budget is balanced, the reserves are full, and we have a $127 million dollar surplus. That's a state that's working. [applause]

Well, we all know we're the number one state in the country, so that's a good place to be. [applause]

We're rated the best place in America for middle-class families. Our farmers are the most productive anywhere in the world, and our cities are thriving. Together we've accomplished so much and Iowa is moving in the right direction.

But you know what we are just getting started! [applause]

When people ask if we can grow more jobs for the future, I say, we're just getting started!

When they ask if we're going to keep cutting taxes, we say, I'm just getting started!

When they ask if we can make our paychecks even bigger, I say, we're just getting started!

And when they ask if we can give our kids even better schools and a brighter future, I say, we're just getting started!

We have a few more of these, so hang in there with me. [laughter] That's what happens when you're ranking well in a lot of states.

And when they ask if we can make our farms and our small towns stronger and more prosperous, I say, we're just getting started!

And when they ask if we can keep Iowa the number one state in the country, we all say, we're just getting started! [applause]

So together with your help and support, we're not going to keep Iowa at the top. We're gonna take it to all new heights.

Growing up in Iowa, living here, raising our kids here – this state has taught me the most powerful lesson – if you work hard and dream big, you can accomplish anything.

So thank you again for your prayers, your support. It means the world to my family. And me and even though the campaign is just ended, we are just getting started.

God bless you. God bless this great state. Let's go out there and get it done. [applause]

Thank you. God bless you. [applause]

DMRegister. "Full speech: Kim Reynolds celebrates being the first elected female governor of Iowa." YouTube video, 10:10. Nov. 7, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXgRg0HM4_4.