WHAT'S NEXT: I am heading to Washington for new member orientation meetings over the next several days and I will be interviewing and hiring staff for our local and national offices. Announcements will be made as new hires are brought on board. With the new team in place, I'll focus on delivering on the promises I made in my Contract with Colorado.
PERSONAL TAKE ON THE WIN: Our Founders believed in the idea that the U.S. House of Representatives should be the voice of the people made up of ordinary citizens and not a bunch of lawyers and career politicians. I couldn't be more honored to have the opportunity as a mom and a small business owner from rural Colorado to have a say in how our country is governed. I'd like to think I'm the type of Representative who our Founders envisioned should have a say in a government of, by and for the people.
PATH TO VICTORY: I believed from the very beginning this race was a choice between freedom and prosperity or more government control of our lives. I campaigned every day to make sure my conservative message was heard loud and clear. I stayed true to myself and my conservative beliefs and voters were attracted to that. My campaign was successful because voters could see through all of the political B.S. being thrown my way and recognized that I would stand up for them in Washington, D.C.
FAMILY: My husband, Jayson, and our four boys were incredibly supportive and helped strengthen my resolve throughout the campaign. They know how strongly I feel about standing up for our God-given rights and how important it is for our family to help be part of the solution in the fight for our freedom. I love all of them very much and I am so thankful for all they do every day for each other, our entire family and our community.
CAMPAIGN: I assembled a small and talented team who helped break Republican fundraising records for the district and exceeded all expectations from every so-called political expert out there. We stayed on my conservative message, focused on running an efficient campaign and overcame long odds. Remember, my campaign started the general election in July with $10,000 in the bank, remained debt-free, got out-spent but still managed to do more with less and pulled out a great win.
VOLUNTEERS: Betty Oglesby, Mona Demicel, Doug Thompson, Janet Rowland, Kristi Kirkpatrick, Phyllis Huntzinger, Pamela Chapman, Ric Rooney, Greg and Emiko South, Terry Hammond, Craig Lindal, Gus Halls, Brandon McAdory, Daniel Sanchez and hundreds of others spent countless hours organizing, calling voters, distributing yard signs, attending rallies and volunteering to do all that made this a true grassroots campaign. I can never thank them enough for all they did to support my campaign, but I'll sure try. Thank you!
REPUBLICAN PARTY: President Trump, the entire Trump family, Trump Victory Colorado, Leader Kevin McCarthy, Chairman Tom Emmer and his team at the NRCC, including the fantastic support from David Johnston, Senator Cory Gardner, Representative Ken Buck and the entire state GOP party were incredibly supportive and helped add much needed rocket fuel to my campaign as it took off. A special thank you to Congressman Scott McInnis, Commissioner Rose Pugliese, and GOP County Chairs Kevin McCarney and Marla Reichert for going the extra distance in support of my campaign. Thank you!
DIANE MITSCH BUSH: Diane Mitsch Bush started the general campaign lying about me and then lied about her own policies. Diane's efforts to con the voters about her being an independent exposed her as a politician willing to say anything to try to get elected. Fortunately the voters saw through those lies and refused to send a socialist to represent them in Congress.
DCCC: The D.C. Democrats proved they can spend millions attacking me, practice the politics of personal destruction and serve up a big dose of all that people hate about politics. They are a despicable bunch and I'm glad we proved they just wasted millions of dollars trying to force their destructive policies on rural Colorado. I'm proud I stood up to them because they are bullies who recognize what a threat I am to their constant government power grab.
POLITICAL LIES AND ATTACKS: Time and again Diane Mitsch Bush and her allies over-played their attempts to criminalize a $100 traffic ticket. They lied about both of our healthcare policies in a failed attempt to scare voters about me. The QAnon attacks were ridiculous. I have consistently said I am not a follower of and I do not believe in conspiracy theories. The attacks over vaccines were false, which I made clear since both my husband and I are vaccinated and we made the personal choice to vaccinate our children.
THE PRESS: Other than the Colorado Springs Gazette, the press seemed generally uninterested in vetting Diane Mitsch Bush and her support of socialized medicine. They seemed way too interested in following along with her Democrat talking points and the false attacks about me and were complicit in Diane's lies and misrepresentations when it came to the debates Diane refused to attend. One of the outcomes of this race is proof that the majority of press has dug itself a huge credibility hole with the voters in our district. I'm thankful to have a social media platform that I can communicate directly with the voters with.
FINAL THOUGHTS: As a citizen, I learned that I could make a difference if I spoke up about the things that matter most to me. Securing our rights, standing up to politicians seeking too much control over our lives and fighting for our livelihoods was the right thing to do. Now I will have the opportunity to do that every day in Congress. I am going to do my very best to work hard and get the job done in a way that makes everyone proud in rural Colorado of their new Representative and more importantly, delivers results.
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