Ashley Moody wins U.S. Senate seat

You know throughout this campaign I said that this election would come down to freedom versus socialism. Well Florida chose freedom. The firewall that we have said all along. We are the beating heart of freedom not only for the United States of America but indeed the rest of the world. We would not be here tonight without you. I am so grateful. There are a lot of states that think they have the best state. I am so proud. I am a fifth generation Floridian. I love Florida. I love the people of Florida. There are a lot of people that moved here from some other states that are glad to be in Florida. The state, from the panhandle to the keys, the folks that were showing up, many of them just moved here in the last five years, and they were desperate to hold on to what we have built here in this state. They were coming out, they were fighting, they're like, we are not going down without a fight. And I said, you know what? We're going to make don't mess with Texas and don't tread on me, look PG. In Florida, we say don't F with Florida. Florida. In my life, my God, and my family. My husband Justin, thank you for that kind introduction. You did pretty well. Wow. Not bad. Wow. He is equal parts protective, motivating, comforting, inspiring, and I count on you every day. Thank you so much. And to my amazing sons, we have Brandon who is not with us, he is wearing the uniform serving right now in active duty. Hey, Judy. Peek! The oldest boy constantly offers me his perspective from active duty. So it's a good thing I'm now on Senate Armed Services Committee because I get an earful on what I need to tell everybody coming in and to our son Connor who is with us tonight. Good night. He cares about this state. In fact, every night we had dinner together I got an update on how I'm doing. What are you doing? For you, that's fun. By the way, my social media apparently is terrible. Terrible. Terrible. And according to my son's perspective, and I got an update every single night of my betting odds. But I am incredibly proud of him and the man that he is becoming. Thank you, Connor, for your support. I can't wait. And man, I have some great teams. My campaign team is here. I know Florida is hot. I know it. It is the swamp. Most of my campaign team is from Florida, but some were not, and they didn't know what to do when they got here. It was so hot. People call D.C. the swamp, but Florida's the swamp. So it's a good thing they sent me up there to fight, because I know what I'm doing. Thank you. Door knocking in Florida weather, not fun. Thank you for your heart, your spirit, your commitment to this country. We knew what we were fighting for, and we did it. Thank you. My team that represents the Senate office, I have to tell you, They are public servants through and through. Many would tell you they are in these jobs because they feel called to it. They feel like it is their purpose, their mission in life. And just to brag about them for a little bit, they are good people. And I said to them, we are here to serve Floridians. The legislative branch... Is a different kind of branch from the executive, which takes the people's laws and enforces them, and the judicial, which interprets and applies it to controversy and chaos and sometimes crime. The legislative branch is where the people send their representatives to figure out, debate, combat. What laws are going to be? What laws we will live together as a free people under? It's so important. And I said our number one goal is to serve Floridians. And I am telling you, under some great leadership, some great folks, they got to work. They took that to heart. We were named by a bipartisan organization, best constituent service in the nation, and I was the first to do that after one year. And that is them living their faith. They truly want to serve people. Thank you to the president, who supported me early, who was showing us that you can care about people in this world, but at the same time, you can put your country and Americans first. Remember that their security and safety and prosperity needs to be at the forefront of our minds when we're developing policy. And to Ron DeSantis, who trusted me with this position. Who trusted me with this position, and I took that as, it was a great responsibility. It is amazing to be a steward of this incredible nation of ours, to go in and fight not only for this state that I love, but this incredible country that we were all blessed to be a part of. And he trusted me with that role, and we hit the ground running, and we've been fighting ever since. We worked really hard to fight for this state when a lot of states weren't fighting for their people. They weren't standing up for their rights. They weren't standing up for common sense. They weren't standing up for safety. And we said, not up in Florida. We're going to get this right. We're going to take a stand when it's not politically convenient in the face of criticism, in the face of fierce winds. And we built this into the free state of Florida. And look, we used to be known for plastic flamingos in Florida, not even flamingos. Now we're for freedom. And I was so proud to be a part of that and fight those battles alongside the governor. And so the direction I got was go up there and fight for this state like you did when we worked here when you were attorney general. And we've been doing it ever since. So it has been my incredible honor for almost two years now to fight for Florida's families. And when I say I believe that I am accountable to every Floridian, whether you voted for me or not, I am mindful that there are millions of Floridians that voted for someone else. And what I think the message there is they want government to be accountable. They want to make sure they have a government That is offering and protecting meaningful opportunity to pursue happiness for their families so their families can thrive. That is not lost on me. And I want everyone to know, whether you voted for me or whether you didn't vote for me, I am your senator. I am here to serve you. And if you ever need me, if I can ever help you in your pursuit of the American dream, please call my office. It would be my great honor to serve you. I am very concerned with the movements and trends of socialism. I am very concerned that our young people in this country, ages 18 to 34, very few of them in the teens are extremely proud to be an American. If you compare that to those over 70, over 70% would say they are extremely proud to be an American. And what that means to me is. Our generation somehow has dropped the ball. We've forgotten to teach them why this is the greatest country on earth, why we have been so successful, why we have outlived the average lifespan of democracies historically. How have we done that? Because we always go back, we always tether to the purpose of this country was to set up a government to protect our God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to set up a government that would effectuate safety for its people. Those two things. are what has made this the strongest, most successful experiment in mankind of a free people governing ourselves. We have to remember that, and we have to teach the next generation that. I am honored that the people of Florida are going to send me back as their United States Senator. But I know that I have a mission, an obligation, to make sure that I am carrying this baton right now. At some point, all of us will have to pass the baton. To the next generation. And what will that look like? What will that look like? We have to make sure that people know the answer to every problem isn't to give government more power. It isn't to give government more of our money. That is not the answer to our challenges. It's to make sure government remembers who our bosses are. And that is the people. And we remain accountable to them. And we get government out of their way. And we make sure we're good stewards of their money. And that we pass common sense policy. And we remain true to the foundations of this nation. We follow the Florida blueprint. And I am telling you, I am fighting to make sure that the rest of this nation looks like the state of Florida. I could not do this alone. This election is not about me. My name is on the ballot, but this was about the people of Florida standing up for this incredible free state that we have built. And you better believe, when they say that I'm Florida's fighter, that is an understatement. I'll take on the other party. I'll take on my own party. Because at the end of the day, I report back to my bosses, Floridians. And you better believe, I want you to keep renewing my contract.