Annie Andrews celebrates historic Senate win

As the night inches along here, we want to go to South Carolina. Annie Andrews is speaking now. She is a projected winner. She's a doctor, a pediatrician. Let's listen in. Well, it's very, very excited there, right? Yeah, they're into it. There it is. And this is a seat that was flipped. This was Lindsey Graham's seat. His sister was appointed and ran for this seat and then defeated tonight by Dr. Annie Andrews, a Democrat from Charleston, who again wins this seat in a heavily reliable red state. Came under some. Here she is. I think we just made some history. So, South Carolina, you have shown the nation what is possible. You have shown the nation that in this era of partisan divides, of vitriol and name-calling, in a politics dominated by billionaires and special interest groups and insiders in Washington, D.C., that we will not bow down, that we will not back down, and we will chart our own course. You have shown the nation that we can come together to defend South Carolina. And today you have elected a senator that will always put South Carolina first. Not only that, but you have elected the first pediatrician to the United States Senate. That's right, the first woman that South Carolina has ever sent to the United States Senate. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I want to start by thanking Darlene Graham for her public service and her love for South Carolina, and I wish her and her family well. And I just spoke with her and she congratulated me on our victory tonight. And to the heartbeat, the heartbeat of our campaign, our volunteers who worked their tails off and never stopped believing, thank you, thank you, thank you. And to our state party chairwoman, Crystal Spain, black woman to lead our state's party, who invested in this race, who believed in us, who believed in me, and worked tirelessly, tirelessly to build a stronger South Carolina across all 46 counties. Thank you, Crystal. And to my dear friend, Jamie Harrison, we would not be here without you. Thank you so much. To all of our incredible staff who poured their hearts and souls into this race, thank you. To the thousands of people who welcomed us into their homes, their churches, their businesses and onto their front porches, thank you so much. And to the Republicans, Independents and Democrats who took a chance on a pediatrician and a mom of three because you believe that South Carolina should come first, thank you. South Carolina, my name may have been on the ballot, but this victory doesn't belong to me, it belongs to all of you. Because tonight we here in South Carolina sent a clear message that this Senate seat does not belong to one family, one party or to Washington DC. It belongs to you and it always will. We embarked on this journey over 18 months ago and while it was long and exhausting and there were plenty of days when I was running on nothing but protein bars, coffee and giant Diet cokes from gas stations. It truly has been the journey of a lifetime. We took this campaign to every single one of our 46 counties from small towns and main streets to farms and our rural communities from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the upstate to the swamps, the literal swamps in the Midlands to the beaches here in the low country. I sat on the back of a pickup truck with an eighth generation farmer in Barnwell who told me that it now costs her $1,900. I thought my farmer friend was here. Tell me it cost $1,900 to fill up her tractor with diesel and that tank of gas will only last her for three days. And that farm that's been in her South Carolina family for eight generations might not last another year or two if things don't change. I've stood shoulder to shoulder with veterans in Ridgeland, tears in their eyes as they told me that they've lost friends to suicide. That their fight for their benefits that they've earned and their fear of another generation Being sent off to a reckless war. I've spoken to seniors who've worked their entire lives, raised their family and did everything right, only to find themselves struggling to get by on their social security checks. I've seen neighbors looking out for each other regardless of political party, families coming together to help each other through hard times. And church congregations opening their hearts and doors to anyone who needs a helping hand. This is the South Carolina that I know. This is the South Carolina that I am proud to call home. And this is the South Carolina that I will fight for every single day in the United States Senate. And to the South Carolinians who did not vote for me, I know we may not agree on everything. And I may not have earned your vote today, but I want you to know this, I will be your senator too. I will listen to you, I will show up for you and I will fight just as hard for you and your children as I would my own. That's the kind of senator that I'll be. I'll be an independent voice who will work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, to do what's right for South Carolina. I will be a brick wall between Washington, D.C. and South Carolina, even when it means standing up to my own party. Nobody in Washington recruited me to run. Nobody handed me a seat in the United States Senate. And nobody wrote me a script. I owe no one in Washington anything, I owe South Carolina everything. And that's exactly who I'm gonna answer to. I never imagined that I would end up in politics. Since I was four, I've only ever dreamed of becoming a doctor. And for the past 20 years, I've dedicated my life to caring for sick and injured children. But what I saw as a pediatrician and what I've experienced raising my own three children made me realize that I couldn't just sit on the sidelines anymore. I watched as insurance companies stood between sick children and the care. You've been listening to Senator-elect Annie Andrews out of South Carolina. This was a surprising win for many across the country, including many in South Carolina, certainly many in the Republican Party who. South Carolina has long been a Republican-held state. Lindsey Graham passed away. Anyway. That seat was then, his sister was appointed to that seat. She was now running as an incumbent, and Annie Andrews then won tonight, which is astounding. Yeah, this is definitely a big upset. This continues what appears to be the Democrats making significant inroads and gains into Republican territory. I always felt like Darlene Graham never really had her heart into this race. As a matter of fact, she did an interview a few days ago in which she said, When she gets to heaven, she's going to choke her brother. For getting her into this mess. Yeah, for getting her into this mess. Very ugly campaign. I thought that Annie Andrews was gracious in congratulating Denise. I think our voters, our viewers at home are wondering why we spent so much time on something like that. Well, it's important because the balance of power is a big part of these midterm elections. The U.S. Senate races all around the country will determine the balance of power, and that is a big deal in South Carolina. That is huge, and that is six years of a Democratic senator from South Carolina, which is a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1998, when conservative Democrat Fritz Hollings was reelected. It's also another example of really sort of an unforced error on the part of President Trump by getting involved in the appointment and then primary election of the late Lindsey Graham's sister who. We're seeing some evidence of Democrats doing very well so far tonight, and then what we'll be able to do throughout the night is compare that to Minnesota results and see, well, are they performing in the same way that we're seeing some races across the country? Yeah, and existentially, this could be the end or the beginning of the end of what we've seen in this country for the last 10 years. With the MAGA movement, with the Republicans in really strong control of the House, the Senate, and the presidency. We still have a long way to go, but... That's right, because it really can be sort of attached to President Trump's unpopularity. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats, but this appears to be going beyond that in a blue wave. And so that is really linked to President Trump's unpopularity, the economy, tariffs, the war in Iran, and then also the president's involvement in some primaries with some less electable Republican choices. Let's jump back into this.