incumbent republican senator ted cruz of texas delivered for career after winning reelection in the u.s. senate race. defeated his democratic chant -- democrat challenger unger in colin allred. -- congressman colin allred. [applause] >> god be the glory.

tonight is an incredible night. a huge victory here in texas. right now we are up by eight points and over 600,000 votes. and they are still counting votes. it also looks very likely that we are going to have a republican senate year. [applause] and i believe and i hope and pray that donald trump will be reelected as president of the united states.

i want to say thank you, number one, to my extraordinary wife, heidi. my best friend in the world. such an amazing partner on this magic carpet ride of life. and i want to say thank you to our two beautiful and amazing girls. you know, politics at times exacts a price on the family. and i want to say i am so grateful for their love and support and you guys are amazing. thank you. i also want to give a special shout out to alexis monger.

alexis, thank you for your incredible courage speaking out for your precious jocelyn and your courage has made such a profound difference in this nation. [crowd chanting build the wall] >> we're going to. [applause] i also want to thank all the democrats across texas who crossed over and supported my campaign. including especially harris county district attorney kim --

who has stood strong for prosecuting violent criminals. i want to congratulate colin allred on a hard-fought campaign and i want to say to all of those who didn't support me, you have my word that i will fight for you, for your jobs, for your safety and for your constitutional rights. but tonight, the people of texas

have spoken. and their message rings clear as it fell across our great state. texas will remain texas. [applause] you know, the media were ready to write off texas. and chuck schumer poured in more than $100 million to our state. well i want to say thank you, chuck. and i hope we win a few more senate seats tonight because you wasted so much money in texas.

they deployed every trick, every live, and every hollywood celebrity they could find. chuck schumer tried to buy this senate seat like it was a piece of manhattan real estate. but he learned what we've always known. that texas isn't for sale. and texans can't be bought. over the last two years, i've traveled every corner of this state from the panhandle to the valley to far in west texas. we have traveled 9094 miles, 53

rallies all over the state of texas. i've worn out my boots, at times my voice, and certainly the patients of my incredible political team. who did an amazing job on this campaign, and i think is the very best team in all of politics. and what i found traveling the state of texas was worth every single mile. because everywhere i went, i found something that gives me profound hope. common isn't dead. it is alive and well in texas. everywhere i went, i met texans

who shared a simple dream to keep their family safe, keep their freedom secure and to keep their texas value strong. tonight, we are witnessing incredible results especially with hispanics across the state of texas. and we are seeing tonight generational change in south texas. the results tonight, this decisive victory should shake the democrat establishment to its core. i've spent months in the rio grande valley sitting in family kitchens, visiting small businesses, praying in local

churches, and let me tell you what i learned. our hispanic communities are not just leaving the democratic party, they are coming home to conservative values they never left. they understand something the liberal elites never will. there's nothing progressive about open borders. there is nothing compassionate about chaos. and there is nothing latino about letting criminals roam free. and just for good measure, we are not tacos. [laughter] >> we are small business owners who know that lower taxes means more jobs. we know that secure borders mean

safe neighborhoods. and we are families who know that texas energy independence means prosperity for everyone. and i found this same awakening to common sense everywhere i traveled. i saw it in the eyes of texas mothers tired of being lectured to about their values, their faith, and their children's education. i heard it from energy workers. men and women who know that american energy independence isn't just about dollars and cents. it is about national security. and freedom. it is about families being able to fill their gas tanks without emptying their bank accounts.

but common sense isn't complicated. it tells us that borders have to mean something. it tells us that laws must be enforced. that children deserve innocence. and that prosperity comes from work, not a handout. and here's what common sense tells us above all. that the people who built texas, whether their families came five generations ago or five months ago understand texas better than any social engineer in washington ever will. when i returned to the senate, i carry with me not just a victory. but a mandate. a mandate from the people of texas.

and let me be crystal clear about what that mandate means. first, we must secure the border. [applause] not with empty promises, but with concrete and steel and law & order and with the unshakable resolve from knowing we are protecting those we love. the cartels who poison our communities. the traffickers who prey on the innocent. their days are numbered. second, we must unleash texas energy.

the answer to america's energy needs isn't venezuelan oil fields or the ayatollah in iran. but rather, it is right here in texas in the basin and throughout the state of texas. we will drill. we will frack. we will produce and we believe the entire world -- lead the entire world. and we will never again let foreign dictators hold american energy independence hostage. third, we must defend our god-given rights. not some of them, not most of them, but all of them.

the right to speak truth in an age of enforced lies. the right to worship the lord god almighty with all of our hearts, mind and soul without government getting in the way. and the right to protect our families without asking bureaucrats for permission. but above all, this mandate means fighting for what we believe in. fighting every day, in every way that matters, fighting for texas jobs, texas values, for texas families. fighting for the constitution and the bill of rights. and fighting without retreat and without apology. because this isn't just about politics. it's about preserving a way of life that has made texas the last best hope for freedom for mankind.

i know this in my bones. this isn't just political for me. it's personal. like all of you, my family journey makes me who i am. many of y'all know my father, pastor rafael cruz. [applause] my dad arrived here from cuba with nothing but $100 in his underwear. he washed dishes for $.50 an hour. he learned english watching john wayne movies. and he worked his way to the university graduating class of '61.

that journey from a cuban prison to texas freedom, from a dishwasher to a small business owner here in houston to today a pastor spreading the gospel across the state. that's not just my story, that is texas a story. likewise, my mom. who is irish and italian, born into a working-class family in delaware who became the first person in her family ever to go to college. she graduated in 1956 with a degree in math, and she became a

pioneering pewter programmer at the dawn of the computer age. my dad is 85. my mom turns 90 this month. both are here tonight and i love you both very much. you are my heroes. and here is what texas promises. not equality of outcomes, but equality of opportunity. not guaranteed success, but a guaranteed chance. not life without struggle, but a life where struggle has meaning, where merit matters.

and where dreams that are backed by sweat and steel determination can still come true. that is the promise of texas. that is the american dream. that's what all of us fought to preserve here tonight, and that's what i give you my word. i will continue to defend with every fiber of my being in the united states senate. [applause] tonight's victory belongs to all of us, to all of us across the state. thank you to each of you. may god bless you and may god continue to bless the great state of texas. i love you. [applause] ♪

>> january 6. what happens when you live about a free and fair election because they weren't happy with the results. i said then and i will say it now, you can't just be a patriot when your side wins. so tonight, we didn't win. but we will continue to be patriots. isn't that right? i want to thank every single texan, every single american who got involved in this race, but especially the folks who knocked on doors, the many phone calls, who gave whatever they could to this campaign. i come from a family where we didn't have a lot of money. and so i know what it means when somebody sends in five dollars or $10.

it is an act of hope. and i appreciate them. really, i especially want to thank all the incredibly brave texas, and who have come forward and told their stories. kate cox, lauren miller, taylor edwards, i could keep going. there are so many brave texas women who told their stories and alley and i will never forget them and we will never stop fighting to overturn this abortion ban here in texas. [applause] i carry three little rocs with me that my sons picked out on the playground. they represent my two kids and my wife. my boys are little. there are three and five.

i haven't seen them as much as i'd like to and for someone who grew up not knowing their father, that is a big deal to me. so i want to say special thank you to my family, to my mother and father-in-law who have done so much childcare. to the folks who mean the most to me. i ran for my boys and will keep fighting for my boys future. and for every texas kids future. and i hope you all will, too. a quote from churchill has been kicking around in my head that i will probably mess up. the courage is rightly esteemed at the first of human qualities. it is the quality that guarantees all others. you have to have courage. it took courage, and i'm not tooting my own horn here, but it

took courage for me to come from a single-parent household without a lot of money to the united states congress. it took courage -- [applause] thank you. it took courage for these texas women to come forward to talk about the most difficult moment of their lives in front of thousands of people. [applause] it took courage for each and everyone of you and everyone who got involved in my campaign, even though we haven't won texas and sometime to believe in this election and put everything you have into it. and it is going to take courage for whatever comes tomorrow and the day after. this country is worth fighting for. this state is worth fighting for. we are a great country. nobody needs to make us great again. we are great because we are good. we are good because that is who we are as a people.

and so i don't want to see anybody putting their heads down. i want you to put your shoulders back and your head up and walked out of your tall that you participated in an american election. that's what we do. in this country, we don't settle our differences in the streets. we don't settle it with violence. we settle it at the ballot box. and if we don't win, we dump -- dust ourselves off and we come back the next time. i don't know what it's going to happen in any of the other races around the country, but i know this. it's going to require patriots like all of you. people all across our state and our country to stay engaged. this 250 year project of ours is one that is very tenuous. every generation of americans is responsible for keeping it going for another generation. we are not going to be the one

to drop the baton. whatever happens in the selection, i want you all to remember who we are. don't ever lose sight of it. don't ever let anybody tell you that is not who we are. and they want to thank you again. god bless you. god bless texas. henry god continue to bless the greatest country in the history of the world, the united states of america. thank you so much. >> the candidates in michigan' senate race talked to supporters

on election night. a winner has yet to be declared in the race but republicans have won the majority in the senate. ♪ >> hi everybody. hi everybody. thank you for the raucous crowd down here. good evening. it is wonderful to be here in the city of detroit. i see a lot of friends and family and supporters. those who came from very far away to join us tonight. i want to start by thanking every single michigander across our state who stepped up to run for office this year. it is a very hard thing to run for office, especially local offices. we've got candidates up and down

the ballot all over the state right now, waiting with bated breath to see how they did. their families are waiting and i just want to thank them for stepping up. it is a very weird lifestyle to run for office, so i appreciate them. i know all too well, how difficult it is in this day and age particularly to put yourself forward, especially for things like school board and city council and clerks. these roles are more important than ever before. so i just want to applaud those michiganders who stepped up to run. please help me thank them. i have a lot of people that i need to thank tonight. i want to start with my family who's up there in particular. yeah, we can clap for my family. thank you. in particular, i want to thank my dad, kurt and my stepmom carol, the greater slotkin singer and ross families who have supported me from day one. you all saw my nieces and nephews out here giving the giving the pledge of allegiance. and i want to recognize my late

mom, judith slotkin, who never saw me run for office but he would be thrilled to be here tonight. i want to thank my congressional team led ably by alexa stannard who i saw somewhere over there. and then of course, my amazing campaign team, all of our tireless volunteers who have worked so hard to get us over the finish line. there's a lot of our super volunteers here tonight. in particular, i want to thank who i think is truly the best manager in the business. matt hennessy, best campaign manager in the business. you can't have him, you can't have him. he has ably led what i believe to be the most talented set in campaign business in the entire country right now. we are watching that unfold as we see it. i want to thank the union leaders, the advocacy groups, those who understood that it takes a village in order to win in the state of michigan. i also want to recognize my biggest champion in this race.

and that's debbie stabenow, senator debbie stabenow. she is the definition of pure michigan. she has quite literally dedicated her life to serving the state at the local state and federal level. she's been in service for 50 -- 50 straight years. and as the first woman ever elected at the federal level for the state of michigan, i owe her a huge debt of gratitude that i can never repay and women of michigan cannot repay. she put up with an enormous amount of crap. enormous. so we always knew that this was going to be a tight race and that is exactly what we are seeing unfold in front of us. there are a lot of votes left to count. this happens in every single election. i've had three tough elections and we're here till the wee hours of the night. so my message to you all is to get some rest, hunker down. we've got a long way to go, but i want to talk for a moment

about where we are in general and where we go from here. michigan is a big, diverse, beautiful place that has given so much opportunity to so many people and that is something that we should all be deeply proud of. if you can do big things in michigan, you can do big things in the whole country because we are a microcosm of the country here. we are home to democrats, republicans and independents and everything in between and that's not going to change any time soon. we are on this boat together. it has been a very long, very heated campaign, but over the next few days, the results will come into focus and the task before us will be to come together. to reach out to people we may not always agree with, to focus on our future as a state and as a country because no matter how passionately we disagree, first and foremost, we are michiganders, we are all michiganders. we are all americans and we got to move forward together all in this boat together. we have had difficult periods in

our history before, right? we all know that our politics have been really divisive for good -- better part of seven or eight years. but it is not the only time that we have had tough divisive periods in our history, right? if you go back through history, you can see these chapters one after another where americans were fighting each other. we're frustrated with each other. we're tense with each other and it was right that people said to themselves, how will we go on as a nation? but every single time we have gotten through those periods with two things, engaged citizens and principled leaders. every single time in our history we've had citizens who just do a little bit more than they're used to doing because they're concerned about their country. and then you've had principled leaders ready to receive the ball and do something about it . just by being here so many of you have worked so hard in order to help our state, the country you love. you are engaged citizens.

i thank you for that. i will do everything in my power to be the principled leader you deserve, whatever the results of the election tonight. so thank you for your time, for your energy. get some sleep. try to process through. don't just scroll and scroll and scroll like we're going to know tomorrow on a whole bunch of things. but for now i cannot tell you how much i appreciate you. it has been the greatest honor of my life to be the nominee for u.s. senate in the state of michigan. the state i love. and i cannot tell you how positively i feel no matter what happens about the future of our country. because i've seen people step up, i've seen people operate, i've seen them take a hold and just do something with that energy. so thank you. thank you. to be continued and i appreciate every one of you. thanks so much. thanks everybody. [applause]