Peggy Flanagan makes history with Senate win

As promised, Peggy Flanagan is going to speak now. The timing couldn't be better, right, guys? Anyway, her husband introducing her. Let's listen in. Casting their ballots to decide who should hold the seat that has been held by the likes of Tina Smith, Al Franken, Paul Wellstone, Walter Mondale, and Hubert Humphrey. But this seat was also once held by a man named Newt Nelson. Who passed a bill more than a century ago that forced thousands of Anishinaabe people from their land and onto the White Earth Reservation. And tonight, a daughter of the White Earth Nation has been elected to the United States Senate. Please welcome my wife, my person, and our senator. Haircuts. Taking food away from children and seniors. this country off to the highest bidder. And you said no more masked goons shooting our neighbors and terrorizing. No more ballrooms, no more bombs or tax breaks for billionaires. The grift now. Country from the grip of the most corrupt administration in our nation's history starts And tonight. Across this state and all across this country, people are saying enough is enough. The working people deserve an economy and a country that finally works for them, not Donald Trump and his billionaire besties. It is time to end the Trump era of chaos, cruelty and corruption. And friends, it is time. For new voices to shake up our party and take back our nation. It's time to help people afford the lives they want to live. Let today be the start of a new American movement. It is a movement that is defined not by corporate greed or political hatred, but by the power of people coming together to demand change. And we saw it coming, Minnesota, because it began right here. When a president who thinks he's a king sent thugs to our state, you sent his private army packing. In the dead of winter, you ventured to leave the safety of your home. You picked up groceries for people you didn't know. You walked kids to school who weren't yours. You marched, you blew whistles. You believe that your neighbors are always worth fighting for. Proved that when Minnesotans fight for one another, We can inspire a nation to join that fight, because when you come for one of us, you come for all of us. We are not just the land of 10,000 lakes. We are the land of 5.8 million neighbors. You've got a lot of neighbors. . . . . And to be a Minnesotan is to believe in fairness above all else. . . . . . It moves us to act for one another. . . . And today, we chose change. . . . In this country today, people spoke loudly . . . . . . and clearly, and the powerful sure better . . . . . listen. . . . Whether the people put up signs for a pediatrician in South Carolina, or made calls for a former Former school teacher in Texas. Whether they knocked on doors for a Paralympian legislator in Iowa or for a logger in Maine, this minister in Kansas, or a Muslim American doctor in Michigan, they voted for the daughter of a Navy veteran and school teacher in Chicago. Their hearts out for this Irish Catholic Native American from St. Louis, so that people demanded more. And for those of us elected in this moment, it is our duty to deliver. And you better believe the change is gonna come. It's gonna come from new voices that weren't picked by the establishment or party leaders. We were picked by the people. We fought back against the money. We took on our own party. And we are the ones who are going to shake up the status quo. We were overlooked and underestimated, but we will not be stopped. Peggy Flanagan and Dishanakas. Giziwe Wadamukwe Indigo. Gawabitiganikag Ndunjaba. Ingin Ndodim. So the name you voted for on the ballot says Peggy Flanagan. But my Ojibwe name speaks in a loud and clear voice, woman. Earth Nation. And my family is the Wolf Clan. And the role of our clan is to ensure we never leave anyone behind. The purpose of our campaign, we refuse to let this country leave anyone behind. And here's the deal, our campaign didn't begin in a Washington DC conference room, but at a kitchen table in St. Louis Park. And it grew. In the basement of the Hibbing Public Library next to the Bob Dylan exhibit, in cafes, in churches, in VFWs, barns, garages, union halls, and living rooms. At the darkest hour, in the weeks and months after Donald Trump was elected, when he still looked unbeatable, you took the boldest action imaginable. You showed up. And we asked each other, what worries you, who are you fighting for, and what brings you hope? And we even put it on post-it notes, and we shared our stories. And people all across this state have continued to share their stories with me every day since. Like Jessica. A librarian married to a farmer in Canby, who has a $16,000 deductible and had to pay $600 for a five-minute med check. Or Maggie in Moorhead, who works a night shift at a hotel and then gets up in the morning to run a bakery the next day because one job isn't enough. It should be. Buddy Bentley, who I met in Brainerd, who relies on Medicaid to survive. His mom, Chris, lives in fear of what Donald Trump's cuts to Medicaid will mean for her child. And she is one of the best moms I have ever met in my entire life. It is the people of Minnesota that saw a space to fight back in this campaign. You powered us to victory and you made our mission clear. You fought for me and now I'm gonna fight for you. For you. Washington, here's what I'm going to throw down for. We are going to lower costs so that families can afford their lives. We are going to get rid of prior authorization so that some dude behind a desk, or worse yet, an AI bot, can't determine whether or not you get the life-saving health care that your doctor has prescribed. We will pass right to repair so that farmers can fix their own damn equipment. We will rip. ...to replace it with an immigration system that is grounded in public safety for everybody. ...and due process, which by the way is still a part of our constitution, a system that does not tear children away from their families. We will stop Washington's corruption and hold the most corrupt administration in our nation's history accountable every day. And we will end Donald Trump's reckless war in Iran. And hear me now, we will pass Medicare for all, once and for all. And listen, people will tell us that we are dreaming too big and that we are asking for too much. Not listen to them. This is possible, friends, because we know that we get what we organize for. I have to say that I can't quite believe that I am standing here as your next United States Senator from the best state in the country. My heart is so full, and I'm also thinking a lot about my mom. We lost her shortly after the 2022 election. And while she hasn't been on this earthly plane, She has been right here with me along this entire journey. It's Pat McGinn's strength and resilience that gave me the courage and the conviction to believe that a kid like me could one day stand on a stage like this one. And it was my dad, Marvin Manypenny, who taught me to speak truth to power. He used to say, my girl, I want to burn the system down. And you want to change it from the inside out. Well, Minnesota, that's what we did tonight. What we are going to keep doing together, we're going to change the hell out of the system and finally make it work for us. Because you proved that once again, the many can beat the money and no president can ever beat the power of the people. You said loud and clear that we refuse to settle for leftovers. And you, you helped a small but scrappy, often underestimated enrolled member of the White Earth Nation become the first Native American woman in history to be elected to the United States Senate. To the young people out there who look like me. To the daughters and to the sons. Who too often are forgotten or erased. I see you. Do not be disheartened that it took 250 years for one of us to get here. Be inspired by the fact that with grit and determination and the resilience of our people, whichever one of you is next, you're gonna get here a lot faster. Because if Auntie Peggy can do it, you can do it too. People will underestimate you, my girl. Do not let them. You know who you are, you know where you come from, and you know what you can do. There is no stopping you from achieving your dreams. And there is no stopping Minnesota, because our cause is righteous and our people will not bend. And you better believe that we are going to fight like hell for our state and for our Our country. And it would take me, it would take me weeks to thank all of the people that I need to thank. But I do want to take a few moments. I want to take a moment to thank Michelle Tafoya for running a spirited campaign. No, no, no, no, no. She called earlier tonight and she said, I hope you do right by Minnesota. And I said, you bet. My campaign team led by a badass Minnesotan from New Ulm. Who ran a small but mighty team that held 360 events in 125 communities. In the face of unimaginable tragedies and unprecedented money spent against us. Thank you, Peyton Lewis. Thank you to the campaign team that you led to victory. You slayed. And to Megan Shannon. Our deputy campaign manager, whose problem-solving abilities know no bounds and can always solve problems and knows which direction flags should face, I thank you so much. And to Noodle, we can't wait to meet you. A volunteer whose hard work powered this entire campaign, thank you, thank you, thank you. And thank you, Senator Tina Smith. Thank you for being a mentor. And a friend and an inspiration. Thank you for everything you've done for me and for the people of Minnesota. Some awfully big Chuck Taylors to fill, sister. I love you so much. And thank you to Governor Tim Walz. Grateful for all that we did together on behalf of Minnesota's children and families. And the historic work to strengthen tribal-state relations. Thank you, Governor, for your service to Minnesota. And last but never ever least, Tom and Siobhan, you are my inspiration. Tom, you are my person, and I cannot believe I got to marry my local celebrity crush. And that every day you define what it means to be in a true partnership, I love you. And to my whole heart, Siobhan, my girl, I am so proud of you every single day. You know who you are. Your talent, your heart, your courage, your compassion, your humor knows no bounds. And my proudest accomplishment ever was bringing you into the world and being your mom. I love you so much, my girl. And tonight, it's hard not to think about my political hero, Paul Wellstone. Last campaign was my first. And he used to always say... I don't represent the big oil companies, I don't represent the big pharmaceutical companies, I don't represent the Enrons of the world, but you know what, they already have great representation in Washington. It's the rest of the people that need it. I represent the people of Minnesota. I will say it the way that Paul did, you will always know where I stand and who I stand up for. I represent the billionaires. I won't represent the big drug companies or the big insurance companies. And I sure as hell won't represent Donald Trump. I won't represent the people of Minnesota, whether you voted for me or not. Because I have never been more proud to be a Minnesotan than I am right this minute. And friends, when I get to Washington, I'm not going alone. I am bringing all of you with me. Thank you all so much. Gitchi miigwetch. I love you, Minnesota. There it is, Peggy Flanagan with her speech, talking to all Minnesotans, she said. And she was very clear about who she represents going to Washington. And it is not. Big companies, it's not CEOs, it's not billionaires. Yeah, fiery, feisty in that speech, saying that she's going to shake up the status quo, talking about how she was overlooked and underestimated in a lot of ways, and then talking about how change is going to come. So we were talking about what does this mean for the Democratic caucus with all these new senators. We heard a lot about Donald Trump in her speech and what Donald Trump is responsible for from the Iran war to metro surge in Minneapolis. These are things she is going to bring to that Senate caucus and she is going to be on the left end of the left side of that caucus. That's right. And now in the majority, the Senate Democratic Caucus will be much more ideologically and geographically diverse than it has been in a long time. I mean, winning new seats in South Carolina and Texas and Kansas and Iowa. I mean, it really expands the geographic ideological. Diversity of the caucus, coast to coast, right, coast to coast, and it sort of calls into question who will the Senate Democratic leader be, and of course for the next two years, even with the majority, Trump is still president, and so there'll still be a lot of conflict with Congress and the president. Yes, you mentioned Schumer, I wonder if something is going to be in his, what's going to be in his future, is he going to be the majority leader? There will be senators that will not vote for Chuck Schumer for that position. They've already said that, so this will be interesting to watch.