CSPAN - Campaign 2024
Aired: 2024-11-06
Duration: 06:55

[00:00:00]  People all across our state and our country, to stay engaged.
[00:00:05]  This 250-year project of ours is one that is very tenuous.
[00:00:11]  Every generation of Americans is responsible for keeping it going for another generation.
[00:00:17]  We are not going to be the ones who drop the baton.
[00:00:21]  And whatever happens in this election, I want you all to remember, remember who we are.
[00:00:28]  Don't ever lose sight of it.
[00:00:30]  Don't ever let anybody tell you that it's not who we are.
[00:00:34]  And I want to thank you again.
[00:00:37]  God bless you.
[00:00:52]  God bless Texas.
[00:00:57]  And may God continue to bless the greatest country in the history of the world, the United States of America.
[00:01:04]  Thank you so much.
[00:01:13]  Democratic Congressman Andy Kim has been elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.
[00:01:18]  He defeated Republican challenger Curtis Bashaw.
[00:01:22]  Congressman Kim becomes the first Korean American in the U.S. Senate.
[00:01:30]  I can't tell you how incredible this is.
[00:01:32]  I'm having a hard time processing this moment right now.
[00:01:36]  I'll be honest with you.
[00:01:38]  There have been only a few moments in my life where I've felt the weight of the moment as I do right now.
[00:01:45]  Like a gravity generated by the magnitude of the consequence in our country.
[00:01:50]  It isn't about me.
[00:01:52]  It is about this moment in America and what we each individually tried to do to meet that moment.
[00:02:00]  I look out in this room and I can tell you I see so many people from all different moments of my life.
[00:02:07]  You are here in this room because in one way or another you have touched my life.
[00:02:14]  You have helped me in ways I may never fully, you have helped me in ways I may never fully be able to express to all of you.
[00:02:23]  whether i met you in elementary school or on the campaign trail i want to start by saying thank you let's start with my congressional team
[00:02:51]  For the last six years, we've served the third congressional district and I hope that we have made the people of the third congressional district proud of the work that we've done.
[00:03:02]  We have a team of incredible public servants of all different ages, everyone working together, many of them here.
[00:03:10]  And I just have to say how proud I am of that team.
[00:03:18]  To my campaign team, who carried out our message of change going forward, I know that many of you took risks to join this campaign.
[00:03:30]  You had people doubt your choice to join this campaign.
[00:03:34]  You worked long hours and struggled and stressed about the challenges we confronted.
[00:03:41]  I hope you take pride in this moment.
[00:03:44]  Whoever says young people don't care about politics haven't met the young people that are the engine, power.
[00:03:59]  And to our supporters, look what we've accomplished.
[00:04:04]  Look what we've been able to accomplish.
[00:04:07]  By most standards of what is possible, this moment right now should not be occurring.
[00:04:12]  A year ago.
[00:04:14]  Six years ago, few believed we could show what we could accomplish.
[00:04:21]  That we showed that politics isn't some exclusive plug just for the well-off and the well-connected.
[00:04:28]  That we built something that epitomizes the grassroots.
[00:04:32]  I hope this experience has brought you closer to understanding the essence of our democracy, that you have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a citizen of this great country, and that you feel empowered by that.
[00:04:50]  You've heard me say this line a lot, and I'll say it again tonight, that I believe that the opposite of democracy is apathy.
[00:04:57]  And by ascension, I hope that you see our campaign as a means of being the opposite of that helplessness.
[00:05:05]  I hope this moment is every bit as meaningful for you as it is for me.
[00:05:12]  I want to say thank you to my family.
[00:05:16]  My parents and my sister are here, who gave me the grounding in service and purpose that powers me every day.
[00:05:25]  To my wife, Cammie.
[00:05:38]  Cammie, look what we've accomplished.
[00:05:41]  Look what we've done.
[00:05:44]  For them, right?
[00:05:48]  I'm just so proud of our family and what we've been able to do, our humble family, be able to take this kind of action.
[00:05:56]  To my boys, I'm proud of the two of you.
[00:06:07]  You know, I know that this has been tough.
[00:06:09]  I know it hasn't been easy.
[00:06:11]  And I know there have been moments where I haven't always been there for you in the way that I wish I was as a father.
[00:06:17]  But I hope you're proud of me.
[00:06:19]  And I hope that when you learn about this moment in America, that you come to understand why I did what I did and why I fight for you.
[00:06:38]  I chose this hotel for a particular reason.
[00:06:42]  37 years ago, when I was five years old, my family and I lived out of this hotel for several weeks when we first moved to New Jersey.
[00:06:52]  My first nights in the state were right here in this hotel.