my strength in my faith and it is that tonight. my faith is with me because you were with me. just as i said last night to all of you wonderful people, those that have labored so hard in this campaign, this campaign has been about people. it has been about you. it has been about arkansas. it has been about people in this great state and in this great country. i cannot thank you enough for making it about people. you did not make it about the anger or the fear. you did not make it about the ugly attitudes. i have watched everyone of you out there on this campaign and when somebody was ugly or somebody was afraid or they were angry, you treated them with the utmost of dignity and respect. you enter -- you answered their questions and you work harder. that is what our campaign has been about. i would not have it any other way.

then to live at the way we have had it. [cheers and applause] i have been so fortunate to be surrounded by such a loving staff. it is a wonderful, wonderful staff who are here tonight. my senate agriculture committee staff who are just a group of dynamos. i am so proud of each and everyone of you all, the way you have worked so hard. i want to thank -- give yourselves a hand. [cheers and applause] the senate staff, the ag staff, the campaign staff has worked tirelessly for these last 20 months. they have put together a credible campaign of outrage. our volunteers, those that have labored so much, whether it is here -- [cheers and applause] and absolutely, will have worked so

hard in the campaign of hours and in the quarter ended average. i want to say very special thanks to president bill clinton who was such a trooper and was a wonderful. what a great friend and what a great leader and what a great son of arkansas. [applause] the special arkansas travelers that spent time on the road with desperate it was a fun time and you did a great job. [cheers and applause] i have no regrets. i should take that back [laughter] i have one regret the only regret i have this evening is that i hope i have not disappointed you all. [cheers and applause] that is the only regret i might add. have. i take great pride in the public office i have served. when i went in with the election in 1992, water to create greater stability and common ground and greater results for the people

of arkansas, particularly in the first district ban and in 1998, in the senate. i want people to come together and work hard to make our country strong. i want to make their state strong and i worked hard in reaching out to others to find that middle ground, to be that common sense, and to try to make our nation great. i still don't believe that the answer cannot be in the extreme. they have to be in the middle. they have to be where we work together to find a solution that we need. [applause] let me tell you, folks, we left it all in the field. [laughter] all out there in that field are we get everything we had in this campaign and i could not be more proud of you all. in what we did. we worked hard and we made a difference. [applause] i just want to thank each and every one of you all from the bottom of my heart. you should know that there are

many chapters in all their books. i have had a wonderful time in these chapters of my book. it has been because of the great people of arkansas. and has been because of you, so many of you all who have traveled in those chapters with me all along from the very beginning. there are more chapters to write and i look forward to it. as i said before, my faith has always carried me and it carries me tonight and it will carry me tomorrow because i know there is much more. i asked the lord blessed me in this campaign to make sure that i was where i needed to beat and insure that i was doing what he wanted me to do and i know that he will. i thank you all again for being here tonight. thank you for each and every day and all that you have done. you have meant so much to me. i am so blessed to have had each and every one of you all in my life. let me make sure that you know that you're not getting out of my life. [laughter] you are all very much attached and you will be there for me. thank you all for the

opportunity. please help me as we go forward in all of our lives in what we do. to bring to the people together instead of tearing them apart, instead of creating the kind of division and anger and fear that has existed out there that many of us have [cheers and applause] seen. if you do nothing else for me, walk away from this campaign i proud of what we have stood for and i know that well. thank you all so much and god bless you. i love you, everyone of you. [cheers and applause]

thank you, i love you so much. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i feel good ♪ >> thank you all parenl.

thank you all. i was just hoping i would get as much applause as the girls when they [laughter] as you know, senator lincoln has called and very graciously, we had a very, very nice talk. as you know, she will do a great job in the transition period. senator lincoln and i have not agreed on the issues many times but we have always worked closely when it comes to arkansas and i really appreciate all of her hard work and her love of the state. [applause] i want to thank my family. my mom is not with us here tonight. she is watching. she will have our 89th birthday on november 5. she has promised me that we will

have a big birthday cake with extra rows as on a as i like. [laughter] i want to wish the fact that we are thinking of her and how much i appreciate art. my wife kathy and the girls -- [cheers and applause] it is one thing to help a candidate. it is another thing to actually be the candidate. running for office these days is very, very tough and it's not only tough on the candidate, it is tough on the family. i appreciate them with putting up with me. the other thing is i want to thank my congressional staff. many of them are here today and they worked very, very hard representing the people of arkansas for the last nine years. much of my success, 99.9% of my success has been because of their hardware, their constituents service both in arkansas and also working so

hard to represent the people of arkansas in washington. i want to thank my campaign staff for all that they have done. i cannot go through every one, but all of you have been so great fall. all of you have led your homes to is. you have let your finances to is, everything i am the guy that is up there. it is not about me. is about getting a conservative voice for washington to represent us. [cheers and applause] the reality is that we could not have done this without this great army of people have wed been very helpful. i want to especially thank stanley reed and bill mcknight who have sacrificed so much personal time. [applause]

all along the campaign trail, stanley is a former farm bureau aformerbill is the chief of g.i. at the medical center. he is a big dog dr. over there. [laughter] he has been keeping the campaign regular. [laughter] i tell people that i am an optometrist by training. hang around and i will give you free eye advice. stanley will give you free advice concerning your garden. bill has graciously consented if you are having problems with your digestion to give you advice. [laughter] as we have gone around the state, and that happen all run the state for the last year visiting with so many people and you have memories of different people that stand out in your mind. i think one of my fondest

memories ever, not only of this campaign but ever was being in fordice and i saw a man who gave and shook my hand and said," congressman, you came to iraq to see me and i want to come and see when you came to fordice." [applause] he showed us a picture. he was a truck driver and the truck drivers in iraq and afghanistan are the ones that have suffered so much because that is where they plan to the iud's. three of the guys in his truck had gotten purple hearts. about the men and women we are so concerned about protecting their social security -- for all that that means in being able to reassure them that we would

continue to do that. i think of the men and women, the elderly ladies and men that would come up to us and say here is $20 for gas for your boss. us. they knew that was $20 they did not have. these of the people that i will think about as i go to washington that are counting on us. the small business people are so concerned about the economy right now. the average are kansan is concerned about having a job three or four months from now. these other people we will take to washington to represent. when i was first elected, congressman hammerschmidt 0 has become a great friend and mentor.

you cannot go anywhere in the state without somebody telling a story of how he helped them with a particular problem. he represented the third district but he was a true public servant in every sense of the way. he called me and he said always remember -- he said congratulations, you are the congressman now. he said always remember that there is no republicans or democrats. there is just the people of arkansas and you need to take care of [applause] them] we worked really hard to do that. many of you in the room here, not being from the third district, have not been able to vote for me. i have been voting for you for the last nine years and tried to represent you with a conservative voice that you expect in washington. my pledge is to represent you with that conservative voice in the senate as we go forward.

thank you very much. [cheers and applause] ♪ i feel good ♪

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♪♪ ♪ ♪ i feel good ♪ >> pennsylvania senate race was won by former republican rep pat toomey. he spoke to supporters for about 10 minutes.

>> thank you so much. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you, pennsylvania. [cheers and applause] you knew this was not going to be easy, right? [laughter] gunther, thank you for your support and introduction tonight and being the mc. i appreciate that. the people of pennsylvania have spoken they have delivered us a

victory. [cheers and applause] just a few months ago, agosestak called -- congressman sestak called to concede the race. [cheers and applause] and to convey his congratulations to me. he was very gracious and i appreciate the call. i want to congratulate joe sestak on a spirited and competitive campaign. he and his supporters really deserve to be commended for the vigorous efforts they put out. i also want to say how much i respect the service that joe sestak has given to this country. [applause] i respect both the 31 years he spent in the united states navy and the four years he spent in the united states house of representatives.

he has served this country well and he has done so honorably and i was in the best of luck in all of his future endeavors. [applause] i have a lot of people i need to thank tonight and i cannot begin to go through everybody that i need to thank but there are some that i have to mention he. . i want to mention a few of them. i have to start with a two people who taught me all the important things in life, always encouraged me to preserve my dreams and made countless trips from rhode island to be here in pennsylvania to help us in any number of ways and that is my mom and dad, mary ann, and joseph. [cheers and applause] i want to thank my brothers and

sisters. we have just been a very close family since the beginning. i am so grateful to them for of all help in this campaign and they are up there on the stage, mary ann, jody, mike, steve, lynn, thank you for all your help, love, and support. [cheers and applause] i have three young children to recognize. one is sound asleep right now [laughter] as a six-month old, that is exactly what he should be doing. you may have seen these two and some of the commercials. this beautiful little girls our daughter bridget. she agrees with me. [cheers and applause] the big boy here is patrick [cheers and applause] and the person that i need to thank most of all is the person who makes my whole life possible.

she is the mother of our children. she is the rock that provides me with love and encouragement and support and that is of course my wife chris. [cheers and applause] a huge thank-you to so many people who have supported this campaign in so many ways. we have been at this for 19 months. the people who send in contributions, there are over 72,000 people who contributed to this effort and so many came in in envelopes with a check of $10 or $20 and often a note. i am enormously grateful for everyone who made that personal sacrifice. the volunteers, tens of thousands of people across the commonwealth who started so long ago circulating petitions to get my name on the ballot. they put up yard signs and made

phone calls and went door to door and did all the hard work. i told you we needed all of that effort parian [laughter] i am very grateful. there is one gentleman i do want to recognize to stepped up and agreed to pay a major leadership role in my campaign and i am very grateful to him for all of his guidance and support and arm-twisting he did and that is cliff benson who is here from pittsburgh. [applause] i have to tell you how enormously impressed i am with the campaign staff. this is an amazing team. [applause] these guys spend months on and

working 18-hour days. i don't even know how many nights they spent sleeping on a couch and getting up in the morning again after basically a nap in going after it again. the determination was amazing. the perseverance, the spirit of these guys was tremendous. they are mostly young and they are incredibly smart. they worked their hearts out. a robotic played a crucial role , the folks in the communication shop, the political organization, the grass-roots organizers and people manage the back office, the scheduler and the travel group. everybody was absolutely superb. i don't think it is speaking out of school for me to brag about these guys by telling you that several sitting senators who have been watching centers closely have observed that these guys have been running the best senate campaign in the united states of america. [cheers and applause]

i do have to single out the guy who managed the whole process, who oversaw everything and paid attention to every single detail without ever losing sight of the big picture and that is the brilliant, mark harris. [cheers and applause] most of all, i've got to thank the voters of the commonwealth, the voters who came together and decided to give me this extraordinary responsibility and to join in this movement to take back our government and change the direction we are on. [cheers and applause] this victory is not primarily

about me or my campaign. this is a victory for the people of pennsylvania. today we send a simple clear message to the establishment in washington -- we are tired of what has been going on down there. we are tired of it and we will charge a new course. we will chart a course, we will grow this economy and create jobs and reduce the debt and the deficit and in the process, we will create a more promising future for our kids and grandkids. that is what we are going to do. [cheers and applause] i have said it many times and i will say again tonight. there is no reason that we don't have a booming recovery. we have all the fundamental assets of a great, great economy and we need to have that strong recovery and job creation that goes with it. we can do that but we have to do

it by going down a different path. we have to end the threats of the excessive government regulation and a huge out of control role that washington has begun to apply. we have to get spending under control because it cannot borrow and spend our way to prosperity and we should make the 2002 tax cuts permanent for everybody. [cheers and applause] we've got to remember a very fundamental and important truth and that is that governments do not create wealth. governments can destroy wealth and governments can redistribute wealth but wealth and opportunity and prosperity comes from ordinary men and women who get up every day and go to work. they make the things that we need and provide the services we value with the voluntary exchange of free people and this has lifted more people out of poverty and create more opportunity than any other

system in the world. if we remember that, we will have a strong economic recovery and job growth [cheers and applause] i also want to note that the victory tonight, we should not think of this as a partisan thing. in order to win, i need to have the support of republicans, democrats and independents and we had that broad support. we are all in this together. we are all americans. i will be a senator for all pennsylvania's. [cheers and applause] this of the play, i want to extend my hand to president obama. i think it is important that we remember president obama is not our product. he is our president. i want to work with senator casey and anyone on either side of the aisle was ready to do the

hard work of making sure we can have the kind of economic growth and prosperity we deserve. [applause] traveling across this great commonwealth from pittsburgh to to the shores of lake erie and the downtown shops of easton and philadelphia, this is a big, beautiful, diverse state. it reminded me and reinforced in the conviction that we have the people, we have the perseverance, we have the entrepreneurship, the innovative spirit, we have the work ethic we need to have a great recovery and to be a strong and successful state and a great country. i had seen the evidence all across the commonwealth. i still believe as i always have that america is still that

shining city on the health and the 21st century can be a great american century. we have to remember the source of our greatness. it can be a century in which the american people continue to inspire the rest of the world with our commitment to freedom. it can be a century in which we continue to lead the world with the strongest economy and the greatest level of prosperity in the world and most important, it can be a century in which we continue the great american tradition of turning over to our kids and grandkids and even greater country than the one we grew up in. we can do this together. thank you very much for all your support thank-you, pennsylvania. [cheers and applause] ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> house republican leader john boehner and the leaders of the gop campaign spoke with reporters in washington tuesday evening. this is about 15 minutes.

[applause] >> thank you very much. you will learn not to trust me when i said greg, i want your help. you said yes and thank you very much to our great deputy chairman greg waldman, we did it together. [cheers and applause] ladies and gentlemen, 20 months to do make a difference. 20 months ago, when i announced that our mission statement at the nrcc would be to retire nancy pelosi -- [cheers and applause] many people thought that would never, ever happened. we believe it. we traveled the country. wheat sold the fight. we talked about how the american people, if they would get behind

the republican party and our ideas, that we could win back the majority. tonight, the american people have spoken [cheers and applause] this election has been a referendum on the federal government that talks too much, on a federal government that does not listen enough, that spends too much, and it does not save enough. and a federal government that takes too much and does not accomplished enough. [cheers and applause] it is real simple -- to have a regime change you have to involve every single team member and that is what we did.

at the nrcc, we ask every single member and our great candidates if they would believe in a dream. we know we believe in three things that we sold well. first of all, we are going to read the bills before we pass them. [cheers and applause] the american people learned that common sense is not common in washington, d.c. secondly, we will not spend more than what we made. [cheers and applause] lastly, we will fight for the free enterprise system because that is what made our country great for our fathers and grandfathers. [cheers and applause] all of this also happened because of the leadership of the john boehner. [cheers and applause] it was john boehner in february of 2009 who saw that great big

monster $870 billion bill that was called a stimulus. he took that bill and slanted down and said," this bill has not been read by one member of this body." and that is wrong." it was john boehner who came across the street to the national republican congressional committee every single thursday for 20 months to work with our team, to hear the good news. ladies and gentlemen, i could not have had greg waldman and i could not have had a greater -- greater part of the gentleman from ohio. please welcome john boehner. [cheers and applause]

>> i am going to thank pete sessions for the tireless leadership he exhibited over at the nrcc along with his sidekick, greg waldman. they have done a marvelous job on behalf of our [cheers and applause] i am going to thank all of our candidates, our supporters, our volunteers who have worked so hard to make this moment possible. let me just say this -- it is clear tonight who the winners really are and that is the american people. [cheers and applause] the american people's voice was heard the ballot box, the american people's voice.

let me be brief because we have real work to do and frankly, this is not the time for celebration not when one out of our fellow 10 citizens are out of work, not when we buried our children under a mountain of debt, and not when our congress is held in such low esteem. this is a time to roll up our sleeves, a time to look forward with determination, and to take the first steps toward building a better future for our kids and grandkids. across the country right now, we are witnessing a repudiation of washington. it is a repudiation of big government and the repudiation of politicians who refuse to listen to the american people. of course, this campaign is not over yet to the folks out west where the polls may still be open, this is a time to seize that moment to make sure your voice is heard, to reject the spending sprees, the bellsouth, the back room deals, the

takeovers and all the nonsense and to join your fellow americans in putting washington on notice. for far too long, washington has been doing what is best for washington, not what is best for the american people. tonight, that begins to change. [cheers and applause] with their voices, the american people are demanding a new way forward in washington. i am here to tell you tonight that our new majority will prepare to do things differently, to take a new approach that has not been tried in washington before by either party. it starts with cutting spending instead of increasing it. [cheers and applause] reducing the size of government instead of increasing it. [cheers and applause]

and reforming the way congress works and giving the government back to the american people. [cheers and applause] for all those families who were asking where are the jobs, it means ending the uncertainty in our economy and helping small businesses get back to work. [cheers and applause] the people's priorities will be our priorities. the people's agenda will be our agenda. this is our pledge to america and this is our pledge to you. while our new majority will serve as your voice in the people's house, we must remember it as the president who sets the agenda for our government. the american people have sent an unmistakable message to him tonight and that message is -- change course. [cheers and applause]

we hope president obama will now respect the will of the people, changed course, and committed to making changes that they are demanding. to the extent he is willing to do that, we are ready to work with them. make no mistake -- the president will find in our new majority the voice of the american people as they have expressed tonight, standing on principle, checking washington's power, and leading the drive to a smaller less costly and more accountable government here in washington, d.c. [cheers and applause] these are the principles our new majority will stand for. we hope that mr. president, you will stand with us and the hard work that will lay ahead. we are all by the trust that the american people have placed in us and we recognize that with this trust comes responsibility to listen and listen we will.

let's start by recognizing that this is not a time for celebration, it is a time to roll up our sleeves and go to work very [cheers and applause] we can celebrate when small businesses begin hiring again [cheers and applause] we can celebrate when spending in washington has stopped. [cheers and applause] we can celebrate women have a government that has earned the trust of the people it serves, when we have a government that honors the constitution and stands up for the values that have made america, america. [cheers and applause] things like economic freedom, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. i hold these values dear because i have lived them. i have spent my whole life

chasing the american dream. [cheers and applause] i started out mopping floors, wedding tables, and tending bar in my dad's a restaurant. i put myself through school, working every rotten job there was. on every night shift i could find. i poured my heart and soul into running a small business. [cheers and applause]

when i saw how washington lost our core values of this great nation, i put my name forward and ran for office. i will fight mike vice the deputy, my girls, lyndesy and trisha, my 11 brothers and sisters and all my neighbors in ohio for giving me the chance to serve and the opportunity to stand before you ready to lead. thank all of you and god bless you and god bless -- [cheers and applause]

>> in one of the more closely watched races of the day, senate majority leader harry reid was reelected in nevada. he spoke with supporters for about 10 minutes. >> senator harry reid. [cheers and applause]

♪. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you.

[chanting - harry!] >> thank you, everybody. thank you. [chanting] >> thank you, everybody. thank you, thank you, thank you. yes, we did. [cheers and applause] today, nevada chose hope over repair.

nevada chose to move forward, not backwards. [cheers and applause] nevada made this choice because we know it is not about us verses of them, it is about every nevadan in this together. today, you made possible what many called impossible and i'm grateful you did. not for me, but for the future we all share as nevadans. first, let me thank my wife. [cheers and applause] my wife and my best friend --

i wanted you by my side since and youst time i saw a feyou have been there ever since, every step of the way. to my family, my tireless staff, and all my generous volunteers, [cheers and applause] i wish my voice could convey what it is in my heart. thank you, thank you, thank you. you never gave up. you never gave up. because you know nevadans never give up. i know how hard you work and i appreciate each minute you

spent, each hour, days, weeks, months, years and i thank the people for that. it has always been my honor to represent the state and serve the state and to fight for the state and to fight for each of you. [cheers and applause] and friends, i am not finished fighting. in fact tonight, i am more determined than ever [cheers and applause] ] you see, i have been some tough fights in my day. they have been in the street, in a boxing ring, and the united states senate. i have to admit that this is been one of the toughest. it is nothing compared to the

five families are facing all over nevada right now. this race has been called but the fight is far from over. the bill -- the bell that just write is not the end of the fight, is the start of the next round. [cheers and applause] i know a lot of nevadans feel they have been counted out but i know what that is like. i have taken on powerful forces that no one dared to challenge and i have run some tough elections that no one thought i could win. i know what it is like to have the odds stacked against you. i know what it's like to take a punch. i have taken a few. more importantly, i know what it is like to get back on your feet. [cheers and applause] my story and this night proves

that difficult is not synonymous with impossible. [cheers and applause] we are proof that the test is tough only if you are not taught. my career and his campaign have been driven by a simple believe that if a poor kid can make it, anybody can make it. [cheers and applause] everyone in nevada deserves a chance. everyone in america deserves a chance. nevada will recover. nevada will recover. nevada will prosper and nevada will lead. [cheers and applause] we will bounce back stronger than ever. i have never counted nevada out and i am not about to start right now. i think you know that about me.

you also know that boulogne's and ballrooms are not my style. they are not my thing. everybody enjoys it tonight but remember tomorrow. it is back to work for the people of nevada. [cheers and applause] you see, tomorrow morning, there will still be too few jobs for too many people. there will still be too many foreclosure signs in too many front yards. there will still be too many kids unclouded -- crowded classrooms and to many students wondering how they can afford college. your hard work and it has been really hard, has given about the

chance to believe again that tomorrow is not impossible. before i finish here tonight, i want to invite onstage a handful of those who made tonight possible. my family [cheers and applause] my friends, my staff, they may -- they all made tonight possible. [cheers and applause] because of you, because of view, because of view -- we did not just make history, we made better a lot of futures. because of you, we did it. thank you! [cheers and applause]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪i gotta feeling ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i gotta feeling ♪

♪ i gotta feeling ♪ >> over the next three hours, your comments on the election as we are joined by carrie budoff brown, national politics reporter with politico and bought husak from "the hill." "washington journal" is next.