Concession Speech - Nov. 4, 2025

Thank you all for coming, you know, I’m really not even supposed to be here. Think about it: I mean, I’m an immigrant from another country, and yet, you all have given me the opportunity to do this. This is such an amazing thing for me. Really, even when I had the protestors from the other side, I looked at them in wonder. They thought they were hurting me, but they weren’t because I thought to myself, this is America. It’s amazing that we can protest each other and go home and cook dinner for the kids and not wonder who’s coming to get us. And we must never lose that. America is such a wonderful place. I don’t think we know that. I’m watching people teach their children to hate their country. Why would you do that? Where else are you going to go? And so, I thank you, I thank you for giving me this very great opportunity, and it started, of course, when you gave my father the opportunity to come to this great country with again, you heard me, his dollar and seventy-five cents, and that’s what started the trajectory of my life, where I became, of course, a marine, a business owner, CEO of certain organizations, and then a delegate, and now lieutenant governor. Second-in-command.

(Applause)

Now I have to tell you, I am like everyone. I wanted to wait until every single ballot was counted. Just because I have faith. And I wanted to wait, I wanted to wait because I know that God had called me for this purpose. And so, remember now that God has called prophets, and sometimes the prophets were even beaten and some of them were killed. And so we understand that victory to the Lord looks a lot different than what we think of as victory. Victory starts with obedience, obedience, never forget that.

So, before I say anything else, although I’ve said everything, I want to thank you because you believed in me. You who voted for me and who worked so hard to make our dream for Virginia come true. I still want to continue to thank God for this journey and His grace that brought me, again, to this wonderful country, this wonderful Commonwealth. And a special gratitude goes to my family, my wonderful husband of thirty-nine years, and my wonderful children, Janel and Katia.

(Applause)

I have to tell you, I think I learn more in a loss than I ever do in a victory, and I think there’s something about that. And it builds you, it’s either going to tear you apart or it’s going to build you. Well, I don’t tear apart. I have God, I don’t tear apart. I don’t think we came up short, I think we tried very, very hard. So many had counted me out for so long. And it’s an amazing thing to watch. And we just kept plugging and plugging, and so, I want to say to our young people here: remember that life has ups and downs. You must never stay down, there is nothing down there. You must always rise. It’s one life that you have, and it must be lived to the fullest. Your life has purpose. You have purpose.

I have just called Abigail, and she did not answer, and she doesn’t have to answer. No, no, no, she doesn’t have to answer. I think she’s busy. So, it went to voicemail, and I left her a voicemail, and I asked her to please consider all of us Virginians. That she will represent all of us and not just some of us. And I wished her success. If she is successful, Virginia will be successful. That’s what I wish for her. And I asked her to support policies that will unite us, that will not divide us, that will strengthen our families and keep us safe. And that if I can ever be of help doing that, I’m here, I’m ready to volunteer. After all, apparently, I have nothing else to do.

But volunteering isn’t something that’s new to me, I mean, I ran a men’s prison ministry. One of the best things I think I’ve done, apart from my husband, my children, etc. And then of course, when I also ran a women’s homeless shelter, just the fact that I would be able to shape lives, to tell them, “You’re not done yet. You’re done when you’re in the grave. But until then, God has given you breath, and you must use it, and when you are in a place, you must serve others. You must never be about your own self.” And so, that’s one reason I’m here. You know, I came back into politics because I believed I was called. I saw test scores and I thought it was a good education that lifted my father out of poverty, and it’s a good education that will lift all of us out of poverty. And when I was vice president of our state board of education, I was never laughing if a principal, or a teacher, or a school board person stood before me because our children don’t get do-overs, and they weren’t learning.

So, I hope that Abigail considers school choice, opportunities for our children to excel. It can’t be just one path. No, how dare you stand in the doorway of a parent that says, “I want something different for my child. Please give me the money, I am low-income, but can you give me some money that I can choose a school that I believe is best for my child.” We’ve celebrated the 71st anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Ed., and what was that about? Was it about the worship of a brick building? No, it was about the parents being able to decide where to send their children to school. That’s still the option that parents want to have.

Folks, I ran a race, again, based on foundational ideas that would, well, repeal the car tax, protect our girl children, especially, and not create sexual trauma for them in bathrooms and locker rooms, and in their sports. And I ran a race to expand our economy. When I had my business, it thrived. I started my business in the Great Recession. We did very well in a recession. And then COVID came. And we did very well in COVID, as well. But it was the decision of the then-governor that caused my business to close, and so it matters who the governor is. Policies matter. And to be safe matters because to be governor is to have the other title of commander in chief and the first job I believe that any governor is to keep the people safe. If you don’t have safety and security, you have nothing.

And so I’m not going to give up. Have you given up? No, you must not. My opponent, Abigail, ran as a moderate. If she governs as one, then she will unite us, and she’ll heal our divide and win our support. I hope and pray she does. But all should note: I don’t consider this a loss. Because remember, I’ve always said this, I’m a Christian first and a Republican second and that’s the way it always will be because no political party has ever given their life for me.

[Applause]

So your voice isn’t lost. And I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you. Virginia is not a radical, leftist state and we will hold to account anyone who tries to impose on us the ideology of the left. We must offer our hands of cooperation, but the gesture comes with warning: do not tread on me.

The wind belongs to God. He has ordained all that is and will be and He wants His children to live in peace. Let us do so. Let us come together, tonight, as Virginians, with goodwill in our hearts, filled with the hope that comes with a new day. We must pray for Abigail. We must pray for our government. You are the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We must pray for our state, and we must pray for our country. God has used us for His purposes, we answered the call and gave it all we had. We have no regrets, no matter what comes next, big or small, we still pray, here I am, Lord, send me.

So, don’t give up. We must never give up. To give up is to give up. May God continue to bless you, and may God continue to bless our cherished commonwealth of Virginia, and may God bless these great United States. Thank you so very much for investing in me. Thank you so very much, many of you, and I want to finish here, you carried me. You sent in five dollars and ten dollars and fifteen dollars, and you thought that that was nothing. But you don’t understand what you did. I got a check for three dollars, and it reminded me of the woman with the two mites and that was all she had. She gave above and beyond. And those five and ten and fifteen and twenty-five dollars? They afforded me the ability to have, averaging every day, almost two hundred and fifty thousand to three hundred thousand dollars a day. Without those five dollars, I would not even have been here because I had no money, until other harder dollars came in. So don’t ever think that you can’t do anything. Five dollars, as we say in Jamaica, every mickle makes a muckle.

So, I hope I continue to see you on the campaign trail. I hope I continue to see you because you must understand you have been given the opportunity to choose your government. Be a part of it. And if it’s not helping someone who is the candidate, become the candidate yourself. So, thank you all. Thank you and have a great night. God bless you.