Sen. Mitch McConnell 
Election Night Victory Speech
Louisville, KY
November 4, 2014

  
Are you having a good time? (Cheers, applause) On a night like tonight, we’re grateful, above all else. And for me, that gratitude starts with the people of Kentucky.  (Cheers, applause.)  They've put their trust and confidence in me for a long time, and I want to thank them tonight.

I work hard to bring your concerns to Washington, and I will not let up.  (Cheers, applause)

You know, every election is a job interview.  In this case, a very long one.  I shared my vision with you.  You shared your stories and concerns with me.  And yet one complaint has stood out above all the rest, especially in recent weeks.  So I'd like to make an announcement that I think will be very welcome news to many of you.  No more campaign commercials.  (Cheers, applause)  The TV executives may not like it, but enough is enough, right?

A little while ago, I spoke with my opponent.  Secretary Grimes ran a spirited campaign.  She earned a lot of votes, and she earned my respect.  It took a lot of guts to take on a race like this.  Because of the business we're in, it also meant she'd take some heat.  I admire her willingness to step into the arena and fight as hard as she did.  We need more people who are willing to do that, not fewer.  She deserves a lot of credit for it.  This was certainly a hard fought contest.  (Cheers, applause)

And I’ve been so proud, so proud to have my wife beside me every step of the way.  (Cheers, applause)  You know, you know, Elaine told me early on she wasn't ready to have me sitting around the house working on my resume.  (Laughter)  And she's gone above and beyond to prevent that.  (Laughter)   She's been the most valuable player on our team, and I'm so blessed to have her in my life and by my side.  (Cheers, applause)

And to my campaign manager, Josh Holmes (cheers, applause)  My friends, he pitched a perfect game.  Thank you, Josh.  (Cheers, applause)  Of course there are so many others I could thank.  They know who they are.  Thank you every one of you for giving so much of yourselves to this race.  Nobody's been blessed with a better team than I have had over the years, and I want to thank them all.

My thoughts also turn back tonight to two other people who aren’t here but to whom I owe a great deal: my parents.  I learned a lot from them both.  From my dad, a combat veteran of World War II, I learned an abiding love of this country and all that it represents, not only to those of us who were fortunate enough to be born here, but to so many others around the world.  From my mom I learned the value of perserverence and got an enduring lesson as she helped me overcome a frightening bout with polio as a child.

In many ways, my folks were just like any other parents of their generation.  They were optimists.  They believed in America.  Without a trace of cynicism, they transmitted the central promise of this country on to me, the promise that every generation will leave the next one a little better off than the one before.  This is the compact that every generation of Americans has made with the one that followed it.  And through Civil War and depressions and world wars and strife, we've always made good on it.

But as I’ve traveled through Kentucky over the past year, I’ve sensed new doubts.  Suddenly, folks aren’t so sure that that compact will survive if we continue down the road that we've been on.  They're hungry for new leadership.  They want a reason to be hopeful.  Above all they want some reassurance that people who run the government are actually on their side.  (Cheers, applause) 

So tonight, I pledge you this.  Whether you're a coal miner in Eastern Kentucky who can't find work or a mom in Paducah who doesn't understand why the government doesnt just took away her family's health insurance, I've heard your concerns.  I've made them my own.  You will be heard in Washington.  (Cheers, applause) 

And, look.  When you get right down to it, that’s what this campaign was really all about.  It wasn’t about me or my opponent. It was about a government that people no longer trust to carry out its most basic dutiesxxto keep them safe, to protect the border, to provide dignified and quality care for our veterans.  A government that can't be trusted to do the basic things because its too busy focusing on things it shouldn't be focused on at all.  (Cheers, applause)  A government that's too busy imposing its view of the world on people who don't share that view.  Too many in Washington have forgotten that their job is to serve.

So tomorrow the papers will say I won this race.  (Cheers, applause)  But the truth is, the truth is, tonight we begin another onexxone that’s far more important than mine, and that's a race to turn this country around.  (Cheers, applause)  To restore hope and confidence and optimism to this Commonwealth and across this nation of ours. 

Some things don’t change after tonight.  I don’t expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did when he woke up this morning.  He knows I won't either.  (Cheers, applause)

But, look.  We do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree.  I think we have a duty to do that.  Just because we have a two-party system, doesn't mean we have to be in perpetual conflict.  I think I've show that to be true at critical times in the past.  I hope the president gives me the chance to show it again.  There's so much that we can and should do for the good of all Americans.  Kentuckians are tired of a government that only seems to work when it is working against them.  And they're also tired of hearing that those of us who fight for them in Washington are somehow the problem.

I’m so honored to have Dr. Noelle Hunter with me tonight.  (Cheers, applause)  You’ve all gotten an opportunity to get to know her.  What an extraordinary woman.  Dr. Hunter was determined to get her daughter back.  Against all odds, she did it.  She did it.  And when all was said and done, she achieved something else that a lot of people said was even more remarkable.  She made me seem more warm and cuddly.  (Cheers, applause)

You know, over the past year a lot of people from outside the state have tried to tell Kentuckians what motivates me to do what I do.  I let them have their say, but here's the truth.  To anyone who says nothing ever gets done in Washington, here's my five-word answer.  Tell that to Noelle Hunter.  (Cheers, applause)  This woman is the reason I run.  She's the reason I do what I do in Washington.   We can make a difference, and we do, every single day.  (Cheers, applause)

We’re proud of that in my office. And yet as I’ve traveled across the state, I’ve become acutely reminded of something else the government can do.  It can do terrible damage to families and communities.  I've seen the hurt in people's eyes in the mountains.  It breaks your heart to see the pain that distant planners in federal agencies are causing to so many in our state.  And if you're an elected official like me, it hardens your resolve to do something about it.  (Cheers, applause)

For too long, for too long this administration has tried to tell the American people what’s good for them and then blamed somebody else when their policies didn't work out.  Tonight, Kentucky rejected that approach.  (Cheers, applause)  Tonight Kentuckians said we can do better as a nation.  (Cheers, applause)  Tonight they said we can have real change in Washington.  Real change.  (Cheers, applause)  And that's just what I intend to deliver.  (Cheers, applause) 

So, friends, tonight turns a corner. And the future I see is a bright one. Americans have seen that what the current crowd in Washington is offering is making us weaker both at home and abroad.  They have had enough.  (Cheers, applause)  

You know there's an old saying that's often attributed to Winston Churchill that I'm reminded of.  Here's what he said about us, about Americans.  He said, you know the Americans, they always do the right thing, after they've tried everything else first.  (Laughter)

Friends, this experiment in big government has lasted long enough. (Cheers, applause)  It’s time to go in a new direction.  (Cheers, applause)  It's time to turn this country around.  (Cheers, applause)   And I will not let you down.  Thank you so much.

  (Cheers, applause)  (Chanting)  Mitch! Mitch! Mitch!  (Music)