On the recordSeptember 17, 2019
I thank all the Members of the North Carolina delegation for making me feel so much at home. I thank all the Members for the warm welcome. Just a moment of thanks: I would like to thank my God for giving me the opportunity of life and the ability to experience all the great wonders that He has given us. I thank this country for the freedom it has given me as an individual and how much I can enjoy that freedom. I thank most of all, here in the room, my wonderful wife, Wendy, who has been with me side by side for all these elections. She followed me through medical school, through surgical residency, and through the maze of raising three wonderful children. I love her with all my heart. I thank her parents, Gary and Carol Simes, who have supported me all the way; my cousins, Frank Wood and Betsy Wood; and all the clan who have come from eastern North Carolina and even from Davidson College to support me. I thank the people of eastern North Carolina for bringing me here, and I thank, especially, one particular member of my campaign team, Lynda Blount, who could not be here tonight. She is with us in heart and spirit, and we love her very, very much. I also want to thank Congressman Walter Jones. Walter was a friend of mine, and he was a mentor. I know he was beloved by this institution, and I would not be here today without him.…
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