U.S. House of Representatives

I don’t have to tell any of you what a tough two years this has been.

You smell that? Smells like victory!

There is a very clear reason why we see the cost of gas, the cost of diesel, the cost of home heating fuel through the roof: It’s the president’s decision to launch this war in Iran. We’ve got to end this war.

These incredible people, these nonpartisan, patriotic poll observers and election officials are doing the Lord’s work to make this democracy happen today.

Our veterans need a lot of help too, our students, our young people need a lot of help and the millions across this country who are expecting more results out of Washington, D.C., and that’s what this campaign was all about.

Tonight, I hope that we can agree on this, that the campaign is behind us and the work of serving the people of Iowa remains ahead.

Serving this district has been the honor of my life. The results tonight are disappointing, but I am grateful to every Iowan who put their trust in me, to our volunteers, to my staff, and to my family.

I challenge anybody else who takes this seat to do just as good, and hopefully better – but I’m proud of the very high bar we set.

Across the board, we have helped deliver for our community, for our families, and most importantly, for our country.

There are certain things I’m going to miss about fighting for Iowa, but I’m not going to miss being gone three or four times a week.

Ultimately, I think the people who are counting on me, they don’t care what I say. They don’t care where I fall on the political spectrum. They care (about) what changes and makes their lives better.

This is trust that the voters have given to us, but this is trust that’s borrowed, and now it’s our turn to earn it.

You don’t get angry about something that you’ve given up on. You don’t speak up unless you believe your voice matters. You don’t protest unless you think that somebody might listen, you don’t show up unless some part of you believes that…

Tonight, the district that you fought to create, the people in the district that you wanted to create, the people of Salt Lake County picked their own representative.

Whether I get to work with this party or that party, we’re focused on making sure that you have a voice in Washington, D.C.

My team and I, and you, all of us are together. We’re here to work. We’re not here to grandstand.

So I had to show up and introduce myself to, you know, about 700,000 new people who had never met me before.

We’ll have a delegation that puts Utah first.

When gas prices are what they are, and Republicans have the White House, House, and Senate, they’re going to get blamed for it.

They want limited government. They want low taxes. They want a great business climate.

I will be doing that in a bipartisan way, which is not all that different than what I have been doing the entire time I’ve been there.

Jon Husted had to testify in a criminal trial in defense of the indicted FirstEnergy utility executives in the state’s largest bribery scandal ever.

I want to talk about the kind of people Jon Husted surrounds himself with.

They say you’re the company you keep.