(CNSNews.com) – In his victory speech Tuesday night, Virginia’s conservative Republican Governor-elect Bob McDonnell spoke of the Founding Fathers, the American dream, free enterprise, liberty, hard work and opportunity. He also thanked God for “His grace and His divine providence in my life.”
McDonnell reminded his supporters that he grew up in Fairfax County, in the shadow of Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home. “As a young kid, I never dreamed that I would have a chance to follow in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry” (both of whom served as governor of Virginia). “And it just tells me that with hard work and faith in God, in America you can still be anything you want to be.”
McDonnell, elected Tuesday to a four-year term, thanked independents and Democrats who crossed party lines to support him, and he singled out Sheila Johnson, an African-American businesswomen, who taped ads for McDonnell.
He spoke of the many people he met during the campaign – people seeking a brighter future, he said.
“Leading Virginia will require innovation and cooperation. My promise to you as governor is the same as my promise to you as candidate for governor -- and that is to strengthen the free enterprise system, to create more jobs and opportunity, so that every Virginian can use their God-given talents to pursue the American dream and liberty here in this Commonwealth.
“I pledge to you that we will honor the words of Thomas Jefferson to keep a ‘wise and frugal government,’ and we will do everything possible to keep taxes and regulation and litigation and spending to a minimum here in Virginia So that freedom can grow.
“I pledge to you that we will honor the words of George Washington to honor ‘the eternal rules of order and right’ by protecting life and liberty and property in the pursuit of happiness here in the commonwealth of Virginia.
“Working together as Virginians, we will find those new ways to solve the problems that face us and to create more jobs and new opportunities for all of our citizens.”
McDonnell thanked his supporters, and asked those who did not support him to give him a chance to earn their trust. He also described George Washington as his model of a “servant-leader”:
“Washington understood power, and service, and accountability, and duty, and honor. He said something profound that will guide me as I take on the mantle of leadership for you for the next four years in Virginia: He said, ‘Remember that it is actions, not the commission, that make the officer’ and that more is expected out of a leader than a mere title.
"Tonight you have given me the title of governor of Virginia. But I pledge to you over the next four years – action and results.”
McDonnell promised to “leave Virginia better than we found it.”
Republicans -- and even some Democrats -- say that McDonnell ran a strong campaign that stayed on message.
Bob McDonnell's victory gives Republicans tremendous momentum heading into 2010," declared Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "His focus on ideas and pocketbook issues will serve as a model for Republicans running next year."