Phillips will be the first Democrat to represent the district since 1960
EXCELSIOR, MN – Dean Phillips won the closely watched race for US Congress in Minnesota’s Third District today by an impressive 56 to 44 margin, with 99% of precincts reporting. Phillips addressed more than 700 volunteers and supporters who gathered at the campaign’s election night celebration.
Prepared Remarks:
“We demonstrated that by working together, engaging in conversation with our neighbors, and listening to those whose life experiences and perspectives differ from our own – we CAN overcome hatred, divisiveness and tribalism and begin the work of repairing our faults – as a nation and as individuals.
Yet winning an election is not enough. We have serious and hard work to
do to repair our politics, to end the culture of corruption in Washington, to bring people back together and make meaningful progress on the major challenges facing this country. That will be my mission every single day in Congress. But I cannot do it alone.
What we have built together over the past year and a half is just a beginning. We must stay engaged, promote conversations, and extend invitations, particularly to people with whom we may not agree. We need to come together more often and learn how to disagree without being disagreeable.
It goes without saying: Everyone’s invited! I am humbled and honored to be your new voice in Congress, and extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who made it possible. Get some rest tonight, for tomorrow our work begins anew.”
To that end, Phillips announced his first public town hall meeting will be held in early December.
Minnesota’s Third District is one of the closest-watched races in the 2018 midterm elections. Phillips’s people-powered campaign for Congress raised well over $4 million from more than 68,000 individuals. Having made campaign finance reform his foremost issue, Phillips refused all campaign contributions from PACs, lobbyists, and members of Congress, and managed to win despite being outspent 2:1 by his his opponent, five-time incumbent Erik Paulsen, the special interest groups that supported him in his bid for re-election.