Rep.-Elect Richard Ojeda to Honor Late Father by Carrying His Ashes at Swearing-In

There was that video that you posted, talking to your dad, saying we won, and he passed away the day after. That was such a moving video. Just tell me what was going through your mind when you were in that moment. To be able to tell my father that his son made it to Congress. It was the greatest experience of my life, and I'll be honest with you, before I was doing that, when we were looking at the numbers coming in, I was worried that I was going to have to look them in the face and say, we didn't make it, but we worked really, really hard. Every single day when I come home, he wanted to know what we were doing that day, so I know that my father died a very, very proud man, so I get to take that for the rest of my life. I'm wearing the watch. You know, this is the last watch that he wore, so, you know, I'm bringing him here, and when I swear in. Thank you. I'm going to bring a small little bag of his ashes, and they're going to be around my neck. I'm not swearing this over, because my father's going to be with me there. Well, I'm talking to you right now inside the Capitol. I mean, do you feel him right now with you? I mean, what's going through your head? You know, this is amazing. To be a part of this, it's everything that I had thought it would be, and a thousand times the work. This is such a wonderful opportunity to be able to meet so many people that really... I have a desire to elevate people in this country. It's time that we start doing things for the working class people. And that's what I want to do. And I know that if I can do that, you know, I know that that's what my father would want me to do. My father would want me to be elevated in the leadership, to be helping people, to be standing up for the people that don't have a voice. That's what my father would want me to do, and that's what I'm going to do. You were thinking about him when you were coming here today. Absolutely. Thank you. I'm sitting in that room right there. We're listening to briefings, and I'm just thinking. Yeah, I mean, just the fact that he passed away the day after he won the election, it's like, I can tell, you know, it's emotional. It was tough, you know, once again, you know. I know that he was proud of me, I know he was proud of my sisters, and you know, I know that we made him proud. If you could say something to him right now, what would you say? I'm going to follow through with everything that I've promised. I'm going to stand up for people. I'm going to be a voice for people that don't have one, and that's what I want to do. Thank you.