Read the full transcript of Sen. Jon Ossoff’s victory speech in Atlanta after winning re-election to the U.S. Senate from Georgia. Ossoff congratulated Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms, thanked the volunteers and Republican mayors who backed him, and called for banning corporate and secret money from politics, guaranteeing health care for every American, and restoring American leadership for peace and human rights.
Thank You, Georgia
JON OSSOFF: Hello, Atlanta. Thank you, Georgia. Georgia, you did it.
And let me be the first to offer public congratulations to the governor-elect of the state of Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms.
To every volunteer who poured your heart and soul into this effort and everyone who chipped in so we could face down the dark money super PACs, thank you.
To Charlie Bailey and his crew at the strongest Democratic Party of Georgia in a generation, thank you. To my staff, to Ellen and Keenan and Ray and Miriam and Chandra and the best team in American politics, thank you.
To my wonderful wife, Alicia, and my daughters, Eva and Lila, my parents and my entire family, thank you for your unconditional love and support.
And to the people of the great state of Georgia for the trust you’ve invested in me to continue representing you in the United States Senate, thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Now Georgia. Thank you. I love you too.
The First Light of Dawn Is on the Horizon
And listen. In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame-duck president Donald J. Trump.
And if at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our republic would survive. Let tonight’s results give you courage that the first light of dawn is on the horizon.
But remember that in living rooms and backyards and at rallies across Georgia these last two years, together, we’ve affirmed that our task is not just to contain one president’s wickedness, but to heal the brokenness beneath. That this moment is an opening not for restoration, but for reformation.
And so amidst our celebration tonight, we must acknowledge that the underlying crisis gripping our republic remains, and that therefore our most vital work lies ahead.
America’s Forgotten Families
Because while the wealthy and well lobbied feast on inside information and official favors, America’s forgotten families are treated to systemic corporate disrespect and official indifference, working harder and harder while the treadmill just gets faster and steeper and the bills get higher and higher. Yes, sir.
Instead of reading your daughter her favorite book, that precious spare hour after work, you’re on the phone begging the insurance company to cover the medicine that prevents her seizures.
You report the black mold to your landlord who doesn’t fix the leak, and the ambulance for your toddler’s asthma attack is followed by a $3,000 bill. For too many, homeownership’s a fantasy. Family farms face ruin.
And while health care’s never cost more, plastics invade our bodies, blood and breast milk, toxic forever chemicals taint half the country’s drinking water, and polluters have been granted fresh license to poison our air.
Humanity is fast forgetting the terrible lessons of two world wars and the Holocaust. Meanwhile, the titans of Silicon Valley dig bunkers for themselves and warn that the artificial intelligence they’re creating risks human extinction.
And amidst these challenges of unprecedented consequence and complexity, though we rightly celebrate tonight’s historic victory, the fact is we’ve been too long mired in a small and selfish politics bought by big money, unmoored from fixed moral principles, and resigned to intractable division. In other words, the United States has been adrift in a gale.
Reclaiming Control Over Our Own Destiny
But Georgia, we can and will reclaim control over our own destiny. Tonight, we’ve struck a necessary and undeniable blow on behalf of justice and progress.
And tonight in Georgia, we’ve proven not just that unity is possible, but that we can overcome division without sacrificing clarity of purpose.
In every corner of Georgia, this campaign urged the necessity of banning corporate and secret money from politics, of American leadership for peace and human rights around the world, and of guaranteeing health care for every single American.
We committed to continuing the work of bringing Big Pharma, big insurance, and Big Tech to heel in the defense of struggling Georgia families.
A New Majority Built on Trust
And on that basis, we built a new majority that extends far beyond party lines. And the foundation for that new majority has been trust.
Trust built through years of phone calls to mayors, pastors, and farmers. And trust measured in problems solved together without concern for ideology or party affiliation.
I thank Republican Mayors Matheson, Smith, and Fry of Valdosta, Tifton, and Toccoa, and the countless other Republican leaders who joined our team.
And I thank the hundreds of thousands of independent and Republican voters who joined our winning coalition. Never doubt that unity is possible.
One American House
Even in his final months, Congressman Lewis always reminded us that we all live in “one American house.” Do you remember? In “one world house.”
He called it the inevitable truth that we’re all members of one human family.
And I know many of you have poured yourselves into this campaign, not for my sake or for the sake of a Democratic Party, but because you’re so deeply troubled by the pain our fellow human beings are enduring right now.
The terror of a child watching ICE take away her mother. The despair of a cancer patient losing coverage mid-treatment. But that ache in your heart, that pit in your stomach, that feeling is what reminds us we’re all in this together.
Yes, sir. That we’re not just one United States. We’re one united people. “E pluribus unum.” “Out of many, one.”
And over centuries, despite our sins and through courageous struggle, the flame of American freedom has grown brighter and bolder and given hope to the whole world.