Mary Peltola campaign: We are standing up and taking our state back.

My fellow Alaskans, I am proud to introduce to you the woman who's going to stand up and fight back for all of us, the next U.S. Senator from Alaska, Mary Pocahontas!

Adeegaa!

Adeegaa! Adeegaa!

Can we just count Adeegaa? Adeegaa! Adeegaa! Yes!

Alaska first!

That is what this room is all about. That's what this campaign has been all about. Over 17,000 Alaskans putting in hard hours. It's winter now. People are knocking on doors, hundreds of thousands of doors.

People are making phone calls, thousands of phone calls, hundreds just for one person in a day. Alaskans have had it up to here.

Alaska is a force to be reckoned with. We are standing up. We are fighting back.

Yes. I've been watching Alaskans stand up during early voting for weeks. We are breaking records. I have seen Alaskans standing up across our state today. Breaking records in the voter turnout.

In Bethel, Susan Murphy, who has been a poll worker her entire life, said she's never seen turnout like this since statehood.

Yes! And it feels so good to be one person in a movement This is a movement. Yes, I am just one person in this movement. Movement to get our fish back. Yeah!

Away from corporate greed, out of the clutches of corporate greed, and back into our freezers and our fish racks.

Yeah! People are standing up and fighting back for Social Security.

We have got to protect Social Security. We are going to protect Social Security.

Across Alaska, people are standing up for healthcare, affordable healthcare, access to healthcare.

Yes, people are standing up for education, quality education.

It feels so good to be part of this campaign. I've been in different campaigns for 3 decades. I've been in different campaigns. Nothing has felt like this. Nothing.

There is nothing that comes close to the way this feels. And it's every single person in this room. No one from the lower 48 is going to tell us anything about ourselves or our state.

I'm looking out at this room of hundreds of people who are smart people and know exactly who they're voting for.

Oh, it just feels so good. It feels great to be part of this can-do attitude. We can wrestle our country back. We can get our country back from corporate greed. Yes, yes.

I see hundreds of people in this room who do not care how much money Elon Musk has put into this race.

We do not care. We do not care what Elon Musk thinks. We do not care. We do not care. We know exactly how we feel.

We know exactly what we think. We are standing up. We are fighting back. And it just feels so good to be part of this movement. You know, they've tried to distract us.

They do shiny objects, lots of juicy gossip. Alaskans aren't having any of that. No, no, no. Yes, we know BS when we hear it. We know distractions when we see it, and we are not falling for any of their funny business.

We are laser focused on making sure we have food security in this state.

Every town I've been to— I've been to over 50 communities— every town, big and small, has said we need housing.

We want our children and grandchildren to live here and raise their families here. We need housing. Help us get housing.

Yeah.

Across the state, people have shared, we're getting crushed by corporate greed. Freight, stove oil, fuel costs, groceries. Every single thing we buy is twice or three times more. When does it stop? When we stand up and fight back like we have been doing today.

You know, no, the weather's changing. The weather is changing. We've all seen it in our lifetime. We have seen the changes and now we are having a political sea change. Yes.

No, we, we, it is, it is time to face reality. It is time to really look at the challenges and really get creative with our solutions. And that is what Alaska is made of. That's what every single Alaskan is made of. The things that we have today, the institutions we have today, the governing bodies that we have today, these were invented out of thin air by the generation before me and the generation before that.

It's been just 2 generations before me that have completely constructed this state out of whole cloth. We can do that again.

Yes. And I want to say something about the demographics in this room. What a beautiful mosaic, a reflection of Alaska.

All the colors, all the shapes and sizes, all the different backgrounds. We are all here and we are ready to celebrate. And it is, you know, it is not going to be fast. The results are not going to be fast, but Alaskans are patient. We just want to make sure the folks from the lower 48 know it won't be hours, it won't be days, it will be weeks.

It will be weeks. We know this. We know this. This is how it's always been. This is normal.

This is Alaska normal. It's going to take a long time to make sure we're counting every vote from every far-flung hinterland community, from every tiny outpost, from all of our service members serving overseas, our young people going to colleges. We are going to count their votes. Their votes will be counted. They will be heard.

Yes! Wow, you guys, this is amazing! This is amazing! This is amazing! I wish I had a mirror so you could see yourselves right now.

Can I do a selfie with you guys?

Okay, I need my phone. I need my phone. Okay, okay, here we go. Everybody squeeze in. Yeah, everybody smush together.

I'll do a 0.5, okay?

Yes! Yes! I'm gonna text this picture to all of you.

You know I have your number.

No, today the attack ads stopped, the texting. I pray to God it stops. Please make it stop. I've been told 10 times today that I'm a, you know, projected voter. Like, we see you, we know that you're probably going to vote.

No, this whole room Winners! Winners! We are winning our state back!

Yes! Yeah, no, just a few precincts are. In. There's just a few precincts in, but tell me, does this not feel good?

It's like barely over 20% of the vote has been counted, but it feels so good. And votes trend. They trend the way the early votes have come in. They trend, and we are trending. We have seen a trend where we're just— it just feels so good to let go and be part of a wave.

Okay, so now it's time to party. Okay.

We're going. To close this place down. We are going to revel in this excitement. We're going to revel in this wonderful positivity. We're going to revel in the optimism and the faith that we have in our state, in our country, in our young people.

The young people have really made this campaign.

People from across our state and people from all over our country. Young people from all over our country. Let's give a round of applause for the digital team.

Yes, the digital team, they've been amazing. Just every— you know, and can I please just say thank you to my kids?

My two co-steves, will you raise your hand? Thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your service. Can my kids raise their hands?

Raise your hands.

No one can do, can do it without the support of their family. No one can be successful people without the support of their family. Yes, everyone in this room is my family. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, but a special, special thank you to my wonderful children who have just been with me every step of the way, and I could not have done this without you.

And every single volunteer— every— can everybody who has volunteered raise your hand?

Yes! Yes!

All of the staff who've been here for 10 months. Yes, they've seen Alaska go from winter to spring to summer to fall to winter. Yes, they have been here almost an entire year. Can my staff please raise your hand? Woo!

Yes! Yes!

No, they are some of the first dominoes, you know, the first dominoes of action. And it has just gone statewide. There— I just feel like there isn't one community in this state who hasn't stood up and fought back. We are all standing up. And I could not have done this without every single person.

This race is not about me. This race is about every person in this room, every person who is at home celebrating, everybody across our state who is watching the wonderful news that we are all getting across our television screens. We are getting our government back.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Yes, God is so good, and I am so thankful for everyone in Alaska.

Thank you. Cheese soup? Yes, I also love all of you more than 3 people. Yeah, yeah.

Gin gum chi! I love every single one of you. Thank you so much. Party on!