Senate Victory Speech - Nov. 5, 2024

Hello, Massachusetts! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Let’s give an especially big congratulations to every Massachusetts Democrat who won their race tonight. From local offices to the state legislature to Congress, and particularly my beloved partner, Ayanna Pressley, happy election night! Oh, so good to be here and also with my partner, Ed Markey, great partner in the U.S. Senate.

Tonight’s victory is possible only because of you. Twelve years ago, you took a chance on a candidate who had never run for public office. You sent me to Washington to fight for working people and middle-class families. And time after time, we fought side by side. Over those 12 years together, we’ve delivered big wins, and more than once we have reminded people that government can be harnessed to work, not just for the wealthy and well-connected, but we can actually make government work for the people. I am grateful down to my toes that you are sending me back to the Senate to fight for you. I never thought that I would be in politics. I was happy as a teacher and researcher. But because of you, I moved from being a policy nerd—and let’s give it up for policy nerds! I moved from being only a policy nerd to becoming a policy nerd and full-time fighter to give everyone in our commonwealth and our country a fighting chance to build a future. And my pledge to the people of Massachusetts: I will always fight hard for you, always.

Now over the last several years, we’ve heard from plenty of experts who told us about what wouldn’t be possible. Then, we went out and got it done anyway. You bet. Hard to remember, but 12 years ago, lots of experts and insiders said Massachusetts would never elect a woman to the United States Senate. At least not in our lifetimes. We proved them wrong. And we taught ourselves that no matter the odds stacked against you, it’s always worth it to get in the fight. Now those same experts and insiders also said candidates could never run a campaign without money from corporate super PACs. We proved them wrong again, and we financed our campaigns from the grassroots. Even more experts and insiders said, “Okay, you won. But progress will be slow to impossible. So go small.” But together, we demonstrated that we can make change. Big change.

And here is where it really gets to be fun. We beat Big Pharma and now we have $35 insulin. We’ve capped out-of-pocket drug costs and Medicare can now negotiate lower drug prices, yeah! We beat Big Oil and passed the most ambitious climate legislation in history. Oh, and better yet: we paid for it with my plan for a minimum tax on billionaire corporations. And now, Amazon and other billionaire corporations are paying for our investments in a greener, cleaner America. We beat the big banks on Wall Street, and we cracked down on overdraft and junk fees. I led the charge to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, go CFPB! And now, with a cop on the beat, big banks have been forced to return more than $20 billion directly to consumers they cheated. That CFPB has survived every attack, and I got news for Wall Street: the CFPB is here to stay, yeah! We got billions of dollars for roads, bridges, broadband. Cape Cod bridges, East West Rail. And enough help so that even when our economy was hit by COVID, Massachusetts towns didn’t have to lay off a single teacher, firefighter, police officer, librarian, town clerk, or anyone else who served our communities. And look, we need to do more, but make no mistake: every one of these accomplishments is living proof that we can make government work for people.

So, here’s my message to the voters of Massachusetts. My name was on the ballot, but this election is about you and the work we still need to do. So let me say it loud and proud—I love you, too. For the mama or daddy working two jobs just to keep the lights on, I see you and fight for you. We are going to make childcare affordable for every family and available in every community. And we’re going to raise the wages of every childcare worker, so they’re paid in line with their responsibilities and training.

And for everyone dreaming of owning a home, I see you and I fight for you. We need more housing. And to get that housing, we need Washington to partner up with our cities and towns and build 3 million more houses nationwide. That’s more housing for first-time home buyers, more housing for workers, more housing for seniors, housing for veterans, housing for people with disabilities and special needs, housing in big cities and small towns, housing in urban neighborhoods and rural communities. We need more housing for everyone and everywhere and I’m going to Washington to fight for that housing.

And for the former student, getting crushed by student debt, I see you and I fight for you. We’ve cancelled student debt for five million people, nearly 67,000 people right here in Massachusetts, and we’re not through. No one should be crushed for the sin of wanting an education but not having enough money to pay for it. We’re going to end the days of people going bankrupt just to get an education.

And for the women who lost the fundamental right to make their own healthcare decisions, I see you and fight for you. Today, over 30% of women live in states with Trump abortion bans. Yup. Women who have a miscarriage are told they can’t get medical care until they’re closer to dead, so go hemorrhage in the parking lot a little longer. Enough is enough, we are fighting back, and we will restore the protection of Roe all across this nation.

And for everyone who prays for peace in the Middle East, I see you and I fight for you. We must end the war in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, bring home the hostages, and deliver massive humanitarian aid. We cannot send American bombs to kill civilians in the Middle East or anywhere else. We must push the parties toward a two-state solution, with safety, dignity, and self-determination for Palestinians and Israelis. I will do everything in my power to bring an end to this war.

And for the worker who wants to join a union, I see you and I fight for you. To all our union brothers and sisters here tonight, thank you. Let’s give it up for our teachers, and our nurses, and our auto workers, our service employees, our carpenters, our public workers, the building trades, the teamsters, the hotel workers, the car men, the firefighters, and the childcare workers. The people who make life in this commonwealth possible. Look, 80% of workers say they would like to join a union. Why? Because it’s better in a union. We’re going to pass the PRO Act and make sure every worker who wants to join a union can do so. Because when unions are strong, workers, even nonunion workers are strong. And when workers are strong, America is strong.

During this election, here in Massachusetts and all across the country, people—women and men, young and old, black, white, Asian, Latino, Native American, gay, straight, trans, people in big cities and small towns, in school cafeterias and union halls came together to fight for a better future. We build a stronger future together. Now, it is still early in the night. Some parts of the country, voting is still going on. It’s going to take time for every vote to be counted and a lot of patience as we wait for the final result. Tonight, I’m thinking about my mom, who worked a minimum wage job at Sears to save our house. I’m thinking about my daughter, being on the phone with her when we heard that Roe was overturned. I’m thinking about all the little girls who made pinky promises about girl power. And I’m thinking about all the women and friends of women, also known as some men, about all those women and men who marched, who organized, and who voted in record numbers in this election. It's going to be a long night, and maybe even a long week, but no matter what happens, we are ready for the work ahead.

I know everyone wants to get back to watching the results roll in. But before we conclude, I want to thank those who made tonight possible. First, to the people of Massachusetts, whether you voted for me or not, I am deeply grateful for your trust and confidence and I will wake up every day ready to get into the fight on your behalf. And thank you to my opponent, John Deaton, this is how democracy works. And to everyone who volunteered, who phone banked, who texted, who knocked doors, who brought cookies to the volunteers, who put up a lawn sign, who gave up a part of themselves to be a part of something bigger. You are the beating heart of our democracy, thank you. And to my sweetie Bruce, I don’t have big enough words to tell you how lucky I am that when I proposed, you said yes. Thank you. Thank you all for everything.

I am honored to spend election day with you, but election day is not the end of our work. Today is the start of the next chapter. We have a lot we want to get done, and that’s going to take all of us. So tonight, rest up, drink up, but tomorrow, we’d be ready to get back in the fight and I’m in this fight all the way. Thank you.