I want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of this amazing campaign.
Despite the outcome here and across the country, we have a lot to be proud of. We waged an unprecedented effort, setting fundraising records and creating a grassroots army in the 6th District that will continue to work in and for our communities. We knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors and made hundreds of thousands of phone calls. We showed the 6th District what real people power is.
Unfortunately, what we thought would be a strong headwind turned out to be a tidal wave, and it was too much to overcome this time.
In addition to the prevailing national mood, we were up against what can only be described as an onslaught, with Congresswoman Bachmann spending nearly $10 million - $187,000 per day in October - to defeat us. She spent more than anyone has in a race for Congress in history, a great majority of it from outside our state, let alone outside our district. That meant that rather than serving as a referendum on our Member of Congress, this election became a referendum on the state of our economy, our country and on Washington itself.
I share the frustration that many are feeling. For over a year, you've heard me say that our communities face a critical crossroads at a challenging time, and that Washington still isn't working for us.
But being fed up doesn't mean that we give up. We know that we can create jobs AND reduce the deficit. We can invest in education AND hold taxes down for middle-class families. We can work together - Republicans AND Democrats - to solve the challenges facing our country.
It's those beliefs - that we can do better when we reach out to those with whom we disagree, that hard work and showing up matters, and that we are stronger when we work together to build our communities - that compelled me to run in the first place.
In most ways, today is no different than yesterday, or last week. People in the 6th District and across Minnesota are still struggling, and they need someone to be an advocate for them. They are the reason why we cannot give up. We can't give up on our communities, our families, our neighbors. We can't give up on each other or our country.
We need to stand up, and keep fighting.
Change doesn't come easily or quickly. Sometimes it takes a while for people to cut through the noise and get past the name-calling - but we can do it. We did it in the St. Cloud area when I won my first election, and I know that we'll be able to do that in the 6th District too - thanks in part to the groundwork we laid in this campaign.
As I've said before, alone, my shoulders aren't very broad. But standing together with all of you - shoulder-to-shoulder - we can accomplish a lot.
We can take action to improve our communities. We can work together to build stronger families. We can stand up to the special interests and big money that are poisoning our democracy. We can fight for everyone who still needs a voice in our government.
That's what I intend to do, and I hope you do as well.
Thank you for being a part of this incredible effort. Without you, the netroots, my amazing staff and wonderful family, I would not have been able to take this challenge on.