Rep. Jasmine Crockett, running for U.S. Senate in Texas, targets China’s rare earth and drug supply chain dominance while slamming John Cornyn’s alignment with Trump’s tariffs, SNAP cuts, and taxpayer-funded pensions. A former public defender inspired by Barack Obama, she won a razor-thin House race after being outspent five-to-one, crediting grassroots support from marginalized groups. Crockett accuses Trump of disenfranchising 500,000 in CD-30 via gerrymandering and demands Democratic unity to flip Texas like Mississippi and Georgia did, framing her campaign as a fight for working families over elite interests. [Automatically generated summary]
Sector investment for what is our national champion in the rare earth mining and processing space.
That is something that could be replicated in other industries.
It did become apparent to us on the Select Committee on China doing a variety of war games.
We went up to Wall Street, we war game with finance leaders and things like that, that a lot of the competition would play out in the non-kinetic, economic, and technological space.
And you have to sort of factor this into your strategic theory about how we prevent a PLA invasion of Taiwan.
How are they going to weaponize critical supply chains?
How are they going to weaponize their dominance when it comes to rare earth mining and processing?
How are they going to weaponize their dominance when it comes to life-saving drugs?
Right?
If you remember, early on in the pandemic, CCP officials threatened to cut off the export of life-saving drugs to the United States to plunge us into a sea of coronavirus.
Imagine the chaos that would ensue if Americans' access to life-saving drugs was imperiled.
So, as a matter of fact, we're going to leave this to take you live to Dallas for an announcement by Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, announcing her run for U.S. Senate in Texas, live here on C-SPAN.
I know y'all are ready to hear some good news, and some of y'all already heard it before you even got here.
Yes, it is true.
I am running to become your next United States Senator from the state of Texas.
I honestly can't put into words what it means to me.
You see, a lot of people think that making decisions like this, you take them lightly.
I'm here to tell you that I understand that there's a responsibility.
I'm not reading from my script, so they're about to be confused.
There's a responsibility that lies with all of us, especially in this moment.
There are a lot of people that said, You got to stay in the house.
We need our voice.
We need you there.
And I understand.
But what we need is for me to have a bigger voice.
What we need is not only a voice, but we need to make sure that we are going to stop all the hell that is raining down on all of our people.
So, over the last couple of months, I've been thinking about our future.
Where do we go from here?
And obviously, I've been thinking about Texas.
I thought about my classmates from law school.
One is standing right up front, Mr. Anthony Farmer.
I thought about the big dreams we all had: fighting for justice in the courtroom, starting our own businesses, buying a home, starting families.
If you think about it, our dreams were the American dream.
Opportunities for those who work hard, home ownership, jobs, entrepreneurship, and security.
And that time, we were headed into the Great Recession.
I took a job in East Texas for a pretty well-known family-owned law firm.
I began doing class action defense work, and honestly, I wondered if I'd made a mistake.
I wondered if that was really what I was supposed to be doing.
It just so happened that they had just started a new public defender's office in rural East Texas.
And so, I decided that I would join that public defender's office.
I joined it because I believed everybody deserved a voice in the courtroom.
Even if they couldn't afford an attorney, one would be provided to them, and that attorney was me.
I loved being a courtroom warrior.
I got some judges here.
They probably can't identify themselves, but nevertheless, I loved being in the courtroom.
You know, I never thought that I would run for office, but some people are able to inspire others as they walk their own path.
As a 27-year-old public defender walking in her path, there was someone who came along and inspired me.
There was this charismatic, funny, intelligent, and exciting young candidate with a funny name who just got into the U.S. Senate and was running for president.
Many doubted if this country was ready, while others, well, we got to work and kept hope alive.
We didn't focus on the naysayers.
We didn't get distracted by any pollsters.
We remained laser-focused on getting the person who was best for the job into the seat.
We didn't let history diminish our hope in what was possible.
We ignored that the devil on our shoulder that sometimes tries to tell us your vote doesn't matter.
The country's not ready.
He can't win.
And responded with that timeless American creed: Yes, we can.
Yes, I'm talking about President Barack Obama.
How many no's do you think he heard before he got a yes?
No, you can't win.
No, the country's not ready for a black president.
No, a black man can't get elected.
No, your middle name is Hussein.
No, you can't beat the Clinton machine.
But every time they told him no, he looked them right in the eyes and he told them yes.
He said, Yes, we can.
Yes, we can deliver on health care.
Yes, we can enshrine equal rights.
Yes, we can bring jobs back to America, create opportunities for all.
And yes, we can save the economy after a Republican president sends it into the gutter.
People ran lies, rumors, and tried to poke holes in everything about Obama from his faith to his heritage.
Falsehoods about his daddy, mistruths about his mama.
There was even a question about his birth certificate.
But he didn't let any of that get in his way.
He worked and worked and worked to inspire and instill a sense of hope.
You put in the sweat equity under the hot Texas sun, knocking on doors, putting out signs.
You've driven your neighbors to the polls, dragged your co-workers to go vote.
You're the ones who walk your precincts, register thousands of voters, and you're the ones who flip seats across the state at every level.
When Texas turns blue, it won't be because of any one candidate, but because of each and every one of you doing your part.
Turning Texas blue is what I want to talk to y'all about today.
Now, there are those that say, ain't no way we done tried it 50 kinds of ways.
Let me be clear.
Y'all ain't never tried it the JC way.
We used to telling us what I can't do, but they have no idea what Crockett's crew will do.
And so I just want to be clear for all the haters in the back, listen up real loud.
We're going to get this thing done.
So they tell us that Texas is red.
They are lying.
We're not.
The reality is that most Texans don't get out to vote.
The reality is that the people that I used to work with in the Texas House did everything that they could to make sure that they could suppress voices.
If we were so red, they wouldn't be so pressed.
Let me be clear.
The reason that the governor always got time to call out my name is because he understands that I know how to speak to everybody, not just some folk.
There are folks who feel like their vote doesn't matter and that nothing will change or that candidates don't speak to them.
And honestly, I can't blame them.
But I'm here to address those Texans specifically who feel as their vote doesn't matter.
Let me tell you it does.
Earlier, I talked about my first race for state representative and I talked about the fact that I was outspent five to one.
They had the money, but I had the people.
When the first batch of votes came out, I was down by 700 votes.
I told my team it was over.
Carmen, who's right up front, rushes down and says, no, we about to go to elections.
I said, y'all, it's over.
We've been voting for three weeks and we down by 700.
We ain't coming back.
Around 10 o'clock, somehow somebody said, Rep, you only down.
I said, if anybody came through for me, it was going to be MLK.
And when I tell y'all, When the votes were counted, I won by 90 votes.
Out of 10,000 votes that were cast, I won by 90.
It was the closest state house race in the entire state of Texas that year.
Do you know where those votes came from?
They came from the mom who organized the entire neighborhood to go vote because she knew I would fight like hell for her daughter.
It came from the retired firefighter who talked to each and every one of his or her neighbors in the senior homes and the people that they lived around.
It came from everywhere.
It came from the churches.
It came from home health care workers who ran across the street to vote at the library during their lunch break.
It came from citizens who hadn't voted in years, but went to cast their ballots because they believed that I would bring a new generation of servant leadership to the government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Each and every one of those votes made up the 90 votes we needed to bring change.
And I'm going to add this.
It even came from unhoused folk.
See, what y'all don't understand is that people like to devalue certain people.
But the only place that equalizes us is at the ballot box.
So I don't ever want anybody, no matter what your socioeconomic background is, to believe that you don't matter or you don't count because the time that you count is when you are at the ballot box.
A single grain of rice can tip the scales.
Every single vote counts, and that couldn't be truer in the United States Senate.
It was a single vote in the United States Senate that saved the Affordable Care Act, that saved millions of Americans health care coverage.
That vote was cast by John McCain, who showed bravery and honored his oath of service.
Yeah, clap it up.
He bucked his party's president to do what was right for his constituents.
Sadly enough, we all know that Senator John Cornyn does not have the guts to stand up to Trump.
But I can tell y'all who does.
I do.
Cornyn carries on with business as usual while small businesses across Texas take the hit from Trump's tariffs.
Well, I'm done with politics as usual.
I'm done with going along to get along and it gets us nowhere.
I'm done watching rural hospitals and public schools close their doors.
I'm done watching parents be afraid to send their kids to school or the mall or the movies because Republicans have flooded our streets with guns.
I'm done with the senators sitting around doing nothing while Trump takes your hard-earned money, skims your Social Security, slashes Medicare, and gives tax breaks to billionaires.
I'm done watching the American Dream on life support while Trump tries to pull the plug.
The gloves have been off and now I'm jumping into the ring.
for your support to be the next United States senator from the greatest state of Texas because I don't ever lose focus to the people and what we deserve
We deserve a government that is by the people and of the people, not one that's bought and paid for, not politicians who are self-serving and lie in their own pockets.
Most of you know that I am a civil rights and criminal defense attorney.
That I made a living arguing cases before juries and fighting for Texas who were harmed to receive justice.
I have won cases and convinced juries in the deepest, reddest parts of this state.
And I'm ready to make the case to the people of the great state of Texas.
My experience spans both state and federal.
As you may have seen, I have spent more time on the federal level than I did on the state level.
And frankly, I'm very well aware of what is happening on the federal level on the deepest levels of the federal level.
I will begin on day one fighting to lower costs, deliver on health care, make home ownership and entrepreneurship accessible to all, and hold Trump accountable.
I'll hit the ground running because I'm already in the belly of the beast right now.
Many people wonder why I jumped in this race so late, and I just want to be clear that this was never my intention.
This was never about me.
I never put myself into any of the polls.
Listen, my question was, which congressional seat would I be running for?
And for Texas 30, I look.
I love you, Texas 30.
I'm gonna finish.
But the more I saw the poll results, I couldn't ignore the trends, which were clear, both as it relates to the primary as well as the general election.
I could have played it safe and continued serving in the United States House of Representatives for as long as my constituents would have me.
But I don't choose to do that because Texas, this moment we're in now, is life or death.
It's all or nothing.
It's now or never.
We find ourselves at a crossroads.
We're faced with a hard choice to make people believe.
We've got to make sure that they understand that we are not to go back.
We are not to allow our hard-earned progress of our foremothers to be wiped away.
We lose Social Security, Medicare.
We lose the right to vote, to love, and live freely.
That's one path where we go back in time.
The other path is learning to live in Trump's America and shrinking ourselves into the shadows.
It looks like people who are afraid to worship or love freely because people are simply right now afraid to walk down the streets.
It looks like a country facing denial.
Bank loan denied.
Health care denied.
American dream denied.
But I'm here to tell you there is a third path, a path where we move forward as one people united under a common vision.
A path where we reject Trump's false promises and reject his lies and division.
I'm asking you to walk down this path with me, shoulder to shoulder, and envision a Texas where every child, no matter their story, can go to the best public schools, can afford to go to college or learn a skilled trade.
A Texas where that child has every opportunity to grow and thrive.
That means nutrition, health care, mental health, and safety.
Imagine a Texas where that child grows up and can buy a home with first-time homebuyers assistance.
Imagine that child wants to start a business and create jobs in their community they live in in Texas where they can actually access some capital to get started.
Now contrast that to our reality today where a child's opportunities are limited by their zip codes.
I think about the children in Houston who had their school district taken over by Abbott.
I think about the children in Lufkin who went hungry this summer after Republicans cut funding for summer EBT.
I think about the young adults and families in Amarillo that would love to buy their own home but can't afford it.
I think about the farmer in Loving County who had to find his way to the nearest hospital miles and miles away because Texas has closed more rural hospitals than any other state.
And by the way, if you know farmers, it takes quite a lot before they'll even think about going to the doctor.
So I know this.
This man was in pain and his pain was ignored and neglected by three decades of Republican domination in Texas.
And I'm going to keep taking down this path with me.
But let's first address the elephant in the room, quite literally.
I know many of you are wondering why I'm running for a seat that everyone says cannot be won.
The last time Texas elected a Democrat to the United States Senate, I was seven years old.
Do not try to do the math.
Cornyn was already 36 and serving as a district judge.
For most of us, a Republican-controlled Texas is all we've known.
But we cannot let that diminish our faith and belief in what can be.
I stand before you because I'm not looking backwards in the past.
My eyes are fully ahead and fixed on the bright horizon ahead of us.
I'm running for this seat because I'm going to be hung up on the brokenness.
I'm not going to be hung up on the brokenness of the past.
I'm focused on fixing up our future.
Many people have asked, and all of us wonder, can we win this race in November?
I'm also here to say it's not if we can, but if we will.
If we will get out and knock the doors, call the people and meet them where they are.
It's a matter of if we will do the work to have the necessary conversations about the future of our nation.
Will we come together as one?
This isn't about me or them.
It's about you and us.
This is not about ambition.
It's not about my ambition.
It's about yours, your hopes and your dreams, and a government that has your back, not pushes you back.
No Democrat has done what we're seeking to do, and that is win a statewide election in Texas in the 21st century.
So there is no roadmap.
There is no blueprint, and there is no cheat code.
So for everybody that thinks they got it, just watch and I'll give it to you.
This path we're going on together is one that must be forged ourselves.
So let's be honest.
If there was anyone with the recipe, well, they would have already won.
But I also know this.
If Mississippi can flip seats, then why can't Texas?
If Georgia can elect two Democrats to the United States Senate, then Texas can too.
In 2012, Mitt Romney won Texas by 16 points.
In 2016, Trump won Texas by nine points.
As his administration went on and people felt the hurt, his margin in 2020 shrunk.
In 2020, as people were fed up with his administration, as people sat around the dinner table, half a million American families stared at the empty chairs, the chairs once filled by loved ones who died from COVID.
I remember the long lines, the lines we waited in for rapid testing, the line folks needing unemployment, the long lines at the food banks.
Well, guess what, y'all?
Under Trump 2.0, people are still unemployed or forced to work multiple jobs.
And after all the cuts to snap, the rising cost of everything except wages, food banks are stepping up once again to fill the gap.
But I remember another place where the lines were so long and in many places wrapped around the building, and that was at the polls.
We turned our pain into purpose.
We kept the faith and we did the work.
We put fear in the hearts as the margins tightened and we were closing the gap.
What did they do in response?
Did they take a look in the mirror, try to offer real solutions to the real issues?
Instead, they decided to come up with ways to keep you from being heard, to make it harder to vote and easier to cheat.
Well, I'm here to tell you don't cheat yourselves.
Don't fall for the oakie-doke.
I'm asking you not to worry about the naysayers, the critics, and the haters, because they already hear y'all.
It's not about them or what they believe.
It's about you and us, what we know is possible when people come together.
So I'm asking you to tune out those intrusive voices that say she can't win because she's black, because she's a woman, or because she's a Democrat.
If you believe women should be in all spaces, then I ask you to stand with me.
If you believe we should be judged by the content of our character, then I'm asking for your support.
And if you believe this election should be about the issues, who has the better policies and ideas, and who is best for the job, then I ask for your vote in the Democratic primary election this March and again in November.
You see, we know what the Republican tactics will be.
A flood of lies and attacks designed to turn blacks against whites, city against country, and you against me.
They are experts in the politics of division.
It's how they've gotten here.
Division is how Trump got elected and then re-elected.
This election is about adding voices to our electorate, about multiplying turnout with a robust operation and a unifying message that asks how is it that Texas is prospering, but the people are struggling.
We have the eighth largest economy in the world, yet kids go hungry.
Seniors have to skip their prescriptions.
Parents are forced to choose between braces for their children or hospice for their parents.
We are the number one state in exports, driving the American economy.
Yet somehow we are also number one in uninsured women and children.
The state is thriving while the people are facing tribulation.
We are better than that, tougher than that.
And Texas deserves better, and together we will.
This campaign is for those who believe that the government should work harder than the people it serves.
This campaign is for every single person that is done with politics as usual, that's fed up with the establishment, that's sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Texas has no shortage of talent, no shortage of ideas, grit, or tenacity.
Our state powers this nation.
Our economy drives the world.
Texas is a big boy state made up of brawlers and people with a moral code.
Our representation should reflect that, and sadly enough, it doesn't.
After evaluating the data, analyzing the trends, researching historic numbers, and combing over the crosstabs, it was clear the numbers were strongest for my candidacy for United States Senate.
That's why I decided to enter this race, because otherwise, I would have continued doing what I've always done, which is support whichever candidate had the strongest numbers.
So I want to be clear.
I'm not running just to run.
This is about winning.
As a candidate who is constantly attacked and seen as a threat, it's because I am.
I'm a threat to the system that's been holding us back from our full potential.
I'm a threat to a system that works to protect politics as usual, that seeks to maintain the despair and unfairness in our state.
I'm a threat to those that have lost their moral compass, abandoned their purpose, and want to be kings instead of public servants.
I'm the only candidate in this race who has served on the federal level, has taken on this administration, and sought accountability.
I'm the only one who has gone toe-to-toe with Donald Trump, and there's a reason he's always got my name in his mouth.
There's a reason John Cornyn has been attacking me since before I even entered this race.
There's a reason folks have tried everything they could to think everything they could think of to try to keep me out of this race.
And I believe that's because Trump has seen the same numbers I have.
I have a track record of getting people out to vote, moving people who were disillusioned with politics and felt like their vote didn't matter.
Since running for public service, I have vowed to increase accountability, accessibility to every office I've held.
Through it all, I've never lost sight of the people.
I've built winning coalitions and brought together voters of all backgrounds, all stars and stripes, in every walk of life under the common belief that government should be of and for the people.
Government should work to make living easy for those who work hard for a living.
My message, rooted in slashing costs, making home ownership and entrepreneurship attainable for all, strengthening and growing the middle class, is one that Texas, all of Texas, from the Panhandle to Port Arthur and from El Paso to East Texas, can believe in.
This campaign is about winning with a strong multiracial, multi-generational coalition of people that is reflective of this great state that is, by the way, 61% people of color.
There is room in this campaign for everyone who feels like our state is heading in the wrong direction.
And that's the majority of Texans, whether you live in Dallas County or Dickens County.
Groceries are too expensive.
The light bill won't stop going up.
People are being crushed by their rent or their mortgages.
That's why I'm running now to get Texas back on track to be a fighter for the middle class, hardworking Texans, ranchers, farmers, young families, oil workers, small businesses, and everyday people who make this state vibrant and make us an economic powerhouse.
Today, under Trump and three decades of Republican rule in Texas, those very Texans are under daily attack.
They are attacked for how they worship, who they love, what language their grandmother speaks.
And you don't know who will be next on the chopping block.
I'm running to protect Texans from these attacks and safeguard the rights our Constitution guarantees.
I'm running to knock down the door to opportunities that have only been cracked open for the elite few.
I'm running to make home ownership and entrepreneurship pillars of the American dream an obtainable reality for all Americans once more.
I'm running to get Washington back to work on issues that actually matter.
Together, we will send a signal to the entire nation.
I believe I am the candidate in the strongest position to defeat whoever emerges after they finally get out of their stuff.
Even if that's my buddy and dancing partner, John Cornyn.
John Cornyn has spent 41 years in elected office.
Anyway, I'm not even going to get off track.
He's been an elected official since I was three years old.
Speaking of three, I want y'all to know that Cornyn has been in office so long that he collects three fat pensions, courtesy of you, the taxpayer, on top of his Senate salary, which is also paid for by you.
By the time I graduated law school in 2006, Cornyn was already drawing his first pension.
Guess Doge didn't catch that one, huh?
But anyway, so after four decades and four fat checks every month, Cornyn has forgotten who sent him to the Senate.
He's forgotten he works for 30 million people in Texas, not one Florida man who's never called this state home.
About two pensions ago, Cornyn used to actually try and help Texas.
He used to speak out against Trump, the candidate, and denounce the border wall.
What happened, Big John?
Because now all you're doing is bending the knee, kissing the ring, and running ads about how you vote 99% of the time with Trump.
Well, John, I kept telling you you had a 1% problem.
And the problem is putting the 1% of Americans who are billionaires before the 99% of us who have to wake up every day, clock in, and hustle to make ends meet.
The 99% of us who had to go out and earn what is ours.
It wasn't handed to us by daddy.
At a time such as this, we cannot afford to have a senator who cowers away from a fight worth fighting.
I will be tougher on behalf of all 30 million Texans.
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At the end of the day, the Republicans, they know they're in hot water.
They shut the government down for more than 40 days and 40 nights while people scramble to make ends meet and keep America open.
His economic policies and his tariffs have drained our bank accounts, forcing millions to live paycheck to paycheck.
While SNAP funding hung in the balance and families had to figure out how they'd even put bread and water on the table, mothers fed their children bread with butter and a sprinkle of sugar to quiet those growling tummies.
And while this was the reality for middle America, Trump and his cronies were busy planning a lavish Thanksgiving feast.
Now Christmas is around the corner and after a whole year of office with Trump, what has he done?
Absolutely nothing to fulfill his number one campaign promise, which was to bring down cost.
Well, prices have tripled since Trump became president and we're all feeling it.
When I first got to Congress, I served on the Agriculture Committee.
I worked on the Farm Bill and SNAP.
And let me tell you: between delaying the farm bill, offering no real solutions on immigration, slashing SNAP, and slapping on tariffs, nobody has been hit harder than our farmers, ranchers, and the millions who grow our food.
At a time when farmers are filing record bankruptcies, when grocery stores are going up even more to cover the cost of all of their economic loss activity because of the snap cuts, and as more rural hospitals close in Texas than anywhere else, how can our senator go along with this?
How can he vote for 99% of this and then ask for yet another term with a straight face?
John?
John, you listening?
You're the only one in Texas who gets four checks to do one job.
Meanwhile, there are households where both parents work two jobs.
The oldest child has to get a job as soon as they legally can, and still the family is barely keeping their head above water.
That is the reality for far too many people.
But John Cornett and his MAGA buddies, or shall I say frenemies, since we never know how he really feels about MAGA, they're so far out of touch with reality.
They live in their own worlds.
The cost of everything has gone up except for wages.
People are working more and they're working harder.
But that check is looking just the same, and that dollar doesn't stretch as far.
They'll tell you that my agenda is out of left field when in reality, it's just right for Texas.
My agenda is affordability.
It's healthcare.
It's energy independence.
It's American manufacturing.
It's protecting our natural resources.
It's providing the best education to every child and not saddling them with lifelong debt in the process.
When prices are lower, that dollar goes further.
Consumers have more confidence in spending power.
Businesses thrive and our economy is healthy.
The more people that are insured, the less health care will cost for all of us.
If we spend on preventative care, we can save way more waiting instead of waiting until somebody is sick.
When we invest in clean energy, your utility bill goes down.
When we build more housing, the rents and mortgages come down.
When we have more affordable child care, Head Start, and universal pre-care, then families will have that huge burden lifted from them.
Child care has become a second rent.
Y'all say amen if you got children, because y'all know I ain't got none.
I heard they're expensive.
My whole platform is rooted in my belief that life should be more affordable for those who make America run.
It's centered around opportunity and a fair shape to work hard, get ahead, and have a chance to earn your dream no matter your story.
To live in a country where you know your rights will be protected at every level, to feel safe walking down the street, that's what I have always fought to do, and I won't let up now.
The stakes and the prices are way too high.
That is what Democrats are truly about.
This is what Democrats is truly about, and it's our opportunity now to remind the nation of what it looks like when we put our values into action.
While Democrats were working overtime to protect health care and lower costs of insurance, prescriptions, and the care you need to be alive, Trump was too busy golfing.
Y'all, I don't even want to tell y'all how much money y'all spent on that.
He was looking over carpet patterns and paint swatches.
Y'all know for his little room.
Anyway, while Americans had to decide between paying the car note or paying the mortgage, Trump's toughest choice was between chantilly lace or alabaster for his billionaire ballroom.
The American people have been watching, and even those who weren't watching, they felt the effects and know the pain.
Trump's unpopular policies will cost him the Republican majority in the Congress.
He knows that, and that's why he called Greg Abbott and said, I need five seats from Texas.
I'm entitled to them.
And Abbott got right to it.
Well, Trump, I know you're watching.
So let me tell you directly, you're not entitled to a damn thing in Texas.
You better get to work because I'm coming for you.
He knew he would lose.
So Trump did what he always does: resort to lying, cheating, and stealing.
He has rigged our elections once again by changing the lines in the middle of an election cycle.
And the cherry on the top, Trump drew me out of my home district.
I know he's tired of me holding him accountable, dismantling his lies, and I know he's tired of me breaking through to millions of Americans, tired of me getting people out to vote, tired of me living in his head rent-free.
Well, Mr. President, you couldn't beat me at the ballot box.
And so, as y'all know, a judge that you appointed, Mr. President, he said your maps were unconstitutional, but you ran it up to your loyal activist cronies at the Supreme Court and snatched representation away from almost half a million people I represented right here in CD 30.
Well, I'm here to tell you, Donald Trump, you won't get rid of me that easily.
I'm not going away.
I'm not giving up.
I still believe in this country.
I still believe that we are in the land of opportunity.
I still believe in the bright beacon of hope amidst a sea of despair.
I still believe Texas will lead the way and prove to this nation and the world what I know to be true.
So I'm asking you: will you join me in this campaign?
Will you join me in the work and turn this moment into a movement?
I'm asking you to wake up every day between now and November, yes, every day, and ask yourself daily: what am I going to do today to elect the leadership I wish to see?
Who I'm going to call today about why I need to vote.
What will my contribution to turning Texas blue be?
It's also why I've sought to bring about unity within our party as well.
I did my best to make sure that we had a strong ticket with candidates running up and down the ballot.
We're not leaving any races out.
Everything is on the line.
I need you to know that this is bigger than any one person and any one candidate.
For us to win this race, we have to win together.
We have to run as a team.
Like I said before, and we'll keep echoing, this isn't about me.
This isn't about them.
It's about you.
We're going to go and win this election for the people.
As I close, I want to send a message to Donald Trump and the whole nation.
Don't take Texas for granted and don't count us out.
It's our time.
We are one.
and let freedom ring.
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First Lady Melania Trump took part in a holiday toy donation drive at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, where she also spoke about soldiers and deployments during the holiday season.
All right, good afternoon, girls and boys.
Welcome to Marine Corps Base Quantico, and thank you for being part of this year's toy sorting event.
The United States Marine Corps Toys for Todds program has been assisting families since 1947, and this year marks the 78th anniversary of our program.
Our goal is to reach another record number of children across this great nation.
I would personally like to thank the White House and specifically the Office of the First Lady for their continued support to the program and being a significant donor in the nation's capital.
These donations make a critical impact on the less fortunate children and families in Washington, D.C. and the National Capital Region.
Last year, Toys for Todds provided 30 million toys to over 13 million children.