First, I want to thank you all for your continued support and for carrying us to victory this past Tuesday.
The netroots was instrumental in launching my campaign last summer and keeping up our momentum through the primary election. Thanks to your help, I am the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, and I know we wouldn't have made it this far without your dedication from the start.
As we saw on Tuesday night, Texas is changing: we've seen voter turnout in this election like this never before. Our campaign received more votes (1.1 million) than John Cornyn, a clear sign that many people in our great state are yearning for a change -- a distinct change from the Washington policies of Bush and Cornyn that Texans know just aren't working.
But when faced with opponents like John Cornyn and his allies, victory is greeted with smears. Last month, the Texas Republican Party demanded that I give them my military records. I refused, and decided to release my records to the public instead so that all Texans, and not just Republican political operatives, could examine my service to this country.
That was just the beginning. Just one day after our big primary win, Roger Williams, the man leading the Republican effort in Texas this year, said, "Democrats want to retreat from the terrorists." This kind of language is outrageous and offensive. I didn't retreat from the terrorists when I spent over a year in Afghanistan, and I didn't retreat during my 27 years of military service to our great country. I don't plan on retreating now either.
This fear-mongering must stop. In the coming months leading up to November, I'm counting on you to help me fight back against whatever Cornyn throws at us -- whether it be by signing up for our campaign alerts, telling a friend about us, or contributing to our campaign. Together, we'll send a message to our opponents and say goodbye to John Cornyn this fall.
I want to be the next U.S. Senator from Texas because I've seen too many Americans living without quality, affordable health care. I've had enough of college costs spiraling out of control for middle class families. And I've had enough of Cornyn and his friends abandoning our troops without a plan and without the body armor they need in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Tuesday's victory was great, but it's still up to us from now until November. The attacks will be tough; but we're going to fight back with the full force of our campaign, from the grassroots up.
Thanks again for all your support. I hope you'll join me in the comments.
Rick
RickNoriega.com
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UPDATE (2:15pm ET): Thank you all for your feedback and comments. It was a great discussion about Tuesday's big win, and what we need to do between now and November to beat John Cornyn. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but together we'll bring the new leadership that Texas and the U.S. Senate desperately needs. I have to head to Guard Duty, but we'll be sure to have more conversations like this soon. Thanks again!