Andy Barr wins GOP nomination for McConnell’s Senate seat

Thank you all. Great job, Mary Clay. Great job. Awesome. Well, my fellow Kentuckians, we did it. Thanks to all of you, I stand here tonight as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Thank you, thank you to all of you who knocked on doors, made phone calls, donated money, got out the vote. This victory is as much yours as it is mine, but it’s bigger than that. This victory is about the future and whether that future will be shaped by Kentucky common sense or the craziness of the extreme far left, but before I speak about that, I want to thank some very special people in my life. First and foremost, I want to thank Almighty God, our Creator. Our Creator who has endowed us with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and our Lord and Savior who has called us all to our God-given purpose to do good works and to make *** positive difference in this world. Thank you to my family, especially my beautiful wife, Davis, my precious children, Eleanor, Mary Clay, Hale, and Virginia. Their sacrifice, forbearance, and love during this busy year and *** half was absolutely incredible. None of this would have been possible without their support, as they gave up time with their husband and father for family dinners, school, carpool, attendance at volleyball tournaments, dance recitals, and bedtime stories. To my parents, Donna and Garland Barr for their unconditional love and encouragement. For instilling in me and my siblings the values of honesty, hard work, perseverance, and of course compassion to others. To my entire extended family, thank you all for your love and support. To my dedicated staff and incredible campaign team, simply put, this milestone would not have been possible without each of you and the tireless work you’ve put in over the past months and years. Together we all dedicate this victory to our dear friend and faithful servant, my late district director and campaign manager, Tatum Dale. I want to thank my opponents in this primary, Michael Ferris, Nate Morris, and Daniel Cameron. Each of these men ran *** spirited campaign, and I’m grateful for it. Contested primaries are about ideas, and they are at the root of our democracy. By running, they made Kentucky stronger, America stronger, and they made me *** better candidate. I also want to thank President Donald J. Trump. Thank you, Mr. President, for your powerful support. I look forward to fighting alongside you to advance our America first agenda and deliver for Kentucky. In the United States Senate. In addition, I want to extend my appreciation to Senator McConnell for his decades of service to our Commonwealth and this country. Ladies and gentlemen. Look at the world around you. One party wants to open our borders, let people into our country illegally, and defund the police. I do not. One party wants to replace free enterprise with socialism and promote government dependency over the dignity of work. I do not. One party wants to use fear to drive an irrational shift to more expensive, less reliable energy that will that will hurt our economy. I do not. One party thinks it’s *** good idea to force women athletes to compete against biological males. I do not. And one party thinks taxes should be higher, wealth is wrong, health insurance should come only from government, and that Kentucky coal should be eliminated, taking with it thousands of good, high paying jobs. I do not support these crazy ideas. And that’s why I say the future will be built by Kentucky common sense or the craziness of politicians on the extreme far left who promote these radical ideas. It’s almost like they learned nothing from the last election. They want to turn Kentucky into the Commonwealth of Kamala. I will not let it happen. I will fight so it can never happen, not here, not now, not this election, not ever. My fellow Kentuckians, at my core, I’m forever *** hopeful man. I’ve been through *** lot, but the Lord made me someone whose glass of bourbon is always full. When you’re born in Kentucky, blessed as *** husband and father of four beautiful children, and when you’re privileged to serve the great people of our Commonwealth, how could I not be hopeful? I’m hopeful because I believe in opportunity and advancement for all, regardless of race, gender, or place of birth. Every American is entitled to the American dream, especially those of you who work hard and struggle, and I will fight for you. I’m hopeful because I believe in American energy dominance with Kentucky leading the way. And I’m hopeful because as Ronald Reagan said, America’s best days are ahead. We have *** storied 250 year old history, but there are more stories to write. Those stories must be based not on the left’s utopian dreams that are driven by socialists, candidates with Nazi tattoos, or *** left-wing fringe we in Kentucky do not recognize. But instead they must be based on individualism, hard work, perseverance, faith in God, family, the Second Amendment, freedom, and *** US military second to none. And let me thank all of the veterans in this room and throughout this Commonwealth. Anything we do in our future is because what you did in the past. My friends, in 6 months there will be another election night, and between now and then, the left will make its stand. It will bring its craziness to our borders. I have work to do. Just as I said when I declared my candidacy in the primary, I will fight for our way of life, for our farms, our factories, our horse industry, our bourbon, for coal, for low taxes, for high growth, for safe towns, safe cities, civility, respect, and fairness to all. These are our common sense Kentucky values. These are the reasons I wake up every day to fight for what I believe in. This contest between Kentucky common sense and the craziness of the extreme far left is important to the future of our country. It’s important which party controls the Senate. And it’s vital to your children and grandchildren that common sense prevails. And so to the good and hardworking people of Kentucky, I will never let you down. I will fight for you, and if you elect me to the United States Senate, I will lead Kentucky to *** new day, *** hopeful future, and *** promise that the future of Kentucky and the future of America will be better and brighter because that is the story of America. With your support, I look forward to helping write the next chapter of the greatest story ever told, the story of the greatest nation in the history of the world, the United States of America. Thank you and God bless all of you.