FULL: Rebecca Bennett victory speech

And I wish him and his family all the best. He congratulated me on our victory, and he expressed his commitment to the peaceful transition of power, a tradition that is deeply American. And here's something else that's deeply American. Tonight is about something bigger than any one of us. It's about all of us coming together to demand change and to leave this country better off than we found it. For my daughters, Rosie and Millie, and for every other little girl watching tonight, this campaign is for you. And I want you all to know that I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you can do whatever you want when you grow up. But just please don't get used to staying up so late. Throughout this campaign I have heard you loud and clear. The American dream has gotten too far out of reach. I have heard from a senior in Rahway who had his home heating oil go from $300 to $900. A teacher in Warren who is paying $4,200 a month for child care. A social worker in Phillipsburg who saw their health insurance premiums quadruple in the past two years. I will work with whoever wants to work with me on solving the cost of living crisis that we are dealing with in this country, but let's be clear, it is not an accident that we find ourselves in this position. All of these costs have risen because we have an administration in Washington that is the most corrupt we have ever seen in the history of this country, and instead of working to make our lives better, they put special interests first and profit while we pay the price. But now you've spoken loud and clear. It's time for change. Let's take on the rampant corruption in Washington and start putting families first. And that means banning members of Congress from trading stocks, turning Citizens United and getting dark money out of politics. Change is never going to be easy. It's never been easy. With corruption in the White House, a war in Iran, and a nation more divided than ever, we have real challenges ahead of us to solve. But I believe our best days as a nation are yet to come. In the Navy, I was a test pilot, and the job was about identifying problems and fixing them, to go out and make things better for my fellow service members. This is the same job, just hopefully with, I hope, a little bit less time at sea. And now my job is to make sure we are making things better for all of us. And tonight we have sent a message that we are not giving up on this country that we love. We are getting to work. My life is the story of the American dream. I went to college on a ROTC scholarship. I used the GI Bill for my MBA. And Alex and I bought our house with a VA loan. And one of my favorite sayings is the harder I work, the luckier I get. Because that's the promise of America, that if you work hard and contribute to your community, your kids will do a little bit better than you did. Because nowhere else in the world could a Navy veteran, 2010 Honda Accord driving, mom of two, with no political experience and no political connections, take on one of the nation's oldest political dynasties, $15 million in dark money and win. It's been a long decade. To say to say it lightly, yeah. And if you're a patriot, if you love this country and the ideals upon which it was founded, the last 10 years have broken your heart time and time again. We watched as this administration pitted community against community, neighbor against neighbor, dividing us because they thought it was their only way to win. But we saw something else in the last decade too. We saw brave New Jerseyans standing up for what is right. We fought hard in both defeat and victory, and we never gave up. We never let the cynicism of President Trump and his enablers snuff out our belief in a better America for ourselves and our kids. And now finally, after 10 long years, something remarkable is happening here in New Jersey and across the country. And this is the moment we begin to turn the page on the Trump era. We'll be right back. This is the moment that we as a district, state, and country, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans stood together and demanded better, demanded change. We are demanding an end to the vast corruption in D.C. and a focus on actually solving the problems that we are facing. We are demanding an end to the wars of choice, ones that sacrifice American lives and billions of taxpayer dollars with no clear objective and no strategy. And we are demanding a focus on the future, making sure that we are building an economy that works for all of us, and that our kids have a fair shot at the American dream. This is the greatest country in the world, and there is nothing that we cannot achieve when we come together to solve our problems. I never could have done this alone. Just like the missions I flew in the Navy, this campaign has always been about the team. I am so grateful to the people from across this district, state, and country who have donated their time, money, and support to this campaign. We had almost 2,000 volunteers knock over 200,000 doors and make over half a million phone calls. I want to thank Governor Sherrill for being here tonight and for your wisdom and support And to everyone here tonight, including our brothers and sisters in labor, Our local elected officials and all the organizations that helped flip this seat, especially New Politics and Vote Vets, thank you. To my team, and just give me a minute here, Abby, Daniel, Felix, Shannon, Alex, again, Juliana, Ben, Ananya, Jesse, Justin, Megan, Gus, Max, Claire, Brynn, Riley, Katie, Ana, Claire, Evan, Carly, and Om. Thank you. You all have worked night and day to flip this seat and build this campaign with me. You are the life and soul of this campaign, and I am so grateful to each and every one of you. Alex, Rosie, and Millie, you all, she's the second born. I don't know what to tell you guys. You all have sacrificed so much for this campaign. I could not do this without you. I am the luckiest person in the world to have a family like you by my side. Thank you, and I love you. To the people of New Jersey's 7th District, thank you for putting your trust in me, for sharing your stories, your hopes, and your fears. No matter who you voted for, I will be your representative in Washington, and I will work harder than I've ever worked in my life to serve you, your family, and to deliver for this district. And most of all, thank you, New Jersey, for standing up. for demanding change and for putting in the work to make it happen. When we look back on tonight, and more importantly when our kids look back on tonight, they'll see that all of our problems have not been solved with one election, but they'll also see that we never stopped trying. We rejected the politics of division and hate. We stood up to the people that wanted us to see our neighbors as enemies, not as friends. Refused to give up on this country that we love and decided it's time for a new generation of leadership because we will never stop trying to leave this country better off than we found it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. Let's get to work.