Senate Victory Speech - Nov. 7, 2024

Hello, everybody, good morning. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to the people of Wisconsin for putting their trust in me to continue to be their fighter in Washington, D.C. The way we won this race is the way I’ve always approached this job. And that is we did everything, everywhere, all at once. I travelled to red, blue, purple, rural, suburban, urban parts of our state. I listened to people. I really listened to people. And then deliver for them. And in turn, these Wisconsites showed up for me. And I am so grateful.

You know, it’s the farmers in the dairy industry who I fought alongside, earning the endorsement of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau. It’s the workers on foundry floors who are getting more business because of my Buy America rules. And a big shoutout to labor. It’s the LGBTQ families who saw through the nasty attack campaigns and knew that I had their backs to live their lives free of hate or discrimination. And it’s the women who’ve had our rights stripped away and saw me on the frontlines fighting for their freedoms. And while I am overjoyed at this victory, I have to acknowledge the results of the presidential race. While we worked our hearts out to elect Kamala Harris, I recognize that the people of Wisconsin chose Donald Trump, and I respect their choice. You know that I will always fight for Wisconsin, and that means working with President Trump to do that. And standing up to him when he doesn’t have our best interest at heart.

For those of you who know me, you know getting things done for the people, making life a little better for people is why I got into public service. I saw at a young age that the deck was too often stacked against working people. When I was 9 years old, I became sick. I was hospitalized for 3 months. And while I recovered, I was forever branded as a child with preexisting condition. And insurance companies refused to cover me. So I spent my childhood without insurance, and I know that this is something that millions across America remember all too well. But you sent me to Congress, and we beat the healthcare giants and the big pharmaceutical companies. And now, yes, people with preexisting health conditions are protected. Young people can stay on their parents’ health insurance until they’re 26 years old due to a provision that I wrote. And drug prices are finally coming down.

You know, we deserve a politics with less vitriol, less division, less hatred, and fewer lies. Actually, no lies. Because it’s time that we come together and tackle the problems that are actually facing working people in communities across our state. It’s time that we put the politics of division behind us. It’s time we lower costs for working families, deliver more affordable healthcare, continue to fight for made in Wisconsin economy, and we double our efforts to pass my Women’s Health Protection Act. So every woman has the same rights and freedoms regardless of their state, their county, or their zip code. It’s time we follow our state motto and continue our march forward.

I want to end by thanking everybody who made this victory possible. I have an amazing and talented campaign team. From finance to field, communications to compliance, and so much more, and they have worked their hearts out, they have. And they are led by my campaign manager, Scott Spector, who is both politically brilliant and brings out the best in the whole team. I also have a wonderful team in my U.S. Senate office, who work diligently serving the people of this state. Thank you to Ken Ready in D.C. and Sarah Enstead here in Wisconsin for your leadership of our team and thank you to all the diligent public servants that I have in my office. I’m blessed. And our state has the most dedicated set of volunteers anywhere in the country. In no small part because of the leadership of Ben Wickler, our state party chair. We could not have done this without the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites who knocked on doors, made the phone calls to win this race. Also, I want to give a special shoutout to my aunt, Sarah, who came all the way from Seattle to knock doors in Milwaukee, the city where she grew up. And thank you to Maria for being my number one supporter. And to the people of Wisconsin, thank you for putting your trust in me as your United States Senator. Let’s get to work.