Victory Speech - Nov. 6, 2018

Didn’t Jacob do a great job with that introduction? Let's give Jacob Burris a round of applause.

I'm so delighted to be here with all of you tonight. I want to acknowledge a couple of people that I know that are here. Governor Barbara Roberts, where are you? I don't think I have to tell anybody that she was the first woman governor in this great state of Oregon. I like to say I'm standing on the shoulders of giants, and I don't know if Governor Ted Kulongoski’s here either, but let's give him a round of applause as well.

So, everybody knows this is a school night and there's a lot of kids behind me tonight, but I thought it was so important that they be here because this election was truly about Oregon's future and this is what it looks like and isn't it beautiful? So there's- there is some good- there she is, Governor Barbara Roberts. So I think many of you know that I am literally one of two pro-choice women governors serving across the country, two, but the good news is, with this election cycle, we tripled the number of democratic women governor's serving in this country. And- and we picked up key gubernatorial seats in Ohio, in Illinois, in Kansas, in Michigan, and New Mexico. Okay and this is preliminary, Tony Evers is leading in the Wisconsin governor's race, and I think our congressional delegation will be here to make another announcement about the US House, but I'll save that for them.

But this election shows that when Oregonians are given an opportunity to invest in our classrooms, to build affordable housing, and to protect health care, it's not a toss-up, it's not even a close call, it’s a slam dunk. This election shows that when our values are on the ballot, Oregonians will come together and fight like hell to stand up for what we believe in. Tonight we can say we fought to keep Oregon a welcoming and inclusive place for all. Tonight we can say we fought to make sure that thousands more will have access to affordable housing and we won. And tonight we've fought to make sure that every woman in this state, regardless of their income, regardless of their zip code, and regardless of their immigration status, will have access to the full complement of reproductive health services.

All right you guys, but make no mistake the fight isn't over. We still got lots of work to do. We've never had someone so divisive in the White House or someone with such less respect for the truth or for the people impacted by his decisions, and as we've learned from this election, Oregon isn't immune from these threats. We came close to losing the progress that we've worked so very hard for. Thanks to all of you, and the voters of this great state, we're going to keep Oregon a shining beacon of hope.

But we've got a few projects, you guys. No one person should be able to buy the governor's office. We need to fight for campaign finance reform and I will lead that fight. Tonight we've raised our voices in unison, we showed the world real Oregon values. Now it's time to put those values to work improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Oregonians. Together, we can ensure that every one of us has a warm, safe, dry, affordable place to call home. Working together, we can ensure that every one of us can have access to affordable health care, and we will continue to grow the economy in every single corner of the state. As my good friend Tom Chamberlain says, the best way out of poverty is a good paying job.

I need your help. We're gonna fight to ensure that every student, every student has the tools they need to succeed. Are you ready to go to work? And we're gonna fight to protect our air, our water, our pristine coastline no matter what the federal government does.

So I want to say a thank you to many people, but first I want to thank my campaign manager, Andreea Cooper, she ran a campaign that inspired thousands of Oregonians to fight for the state that we all love. All right, I also want to thank every single volunteer who helped us knock on over 400,000 doors. That was in the last 10 days. That was in 10 days. We knocked on 400,000 doors. Every moment of your time made a difference. I have never in my time in Oregon politics seen the level of collaboration and the diversity of voices coming together to fight for the Oregon we know and we love. And I also want to thank my family, but most importantly my husband Dan. He is truly my sea of calm in an ocean of chaos. We are all here together tonight because we love Oregon. Yes, no matter who you voted for or where you live, we can all agree on one thing: Oregon is a very special place. I look forward to helping you celebrate tonight the things that make Oregon such a great place and tomorrow we're going to get to work and continue to build a better Oregon for everyone.

KGW News. "Governor Kate Brown gives victory speech." YouTube video, 10:19. Nov. 6, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnCPThoslYg.