(CNSNews.com) - Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race on Tuesday. With 99 percent of the vote counted, Youngkin had 50.8 percent (1,675,152) to McAuliffe's 48.6 percent (1,602,656).
Republican Winsome Sears is Virginia's next lieutenant governor; and Republican Jason Miyares is Virginia's next attorney general.
A jubilant Youngkin addressed his supporters early Wednesday morning, joking that "Breakfast will be served shortly."
The theme of his victory speech (most of it printed below) was "together."
Together. Together, we will change the trajectory of this Commonwealth. And friends, we are going to start that transformation on day one. There's no time to waste. Our kids can't wait. We work in real people time, not government time. So, on day one, we're going to work.
We're going to restore excellence in our schools. We will invest the largest education budget in the history of the Commonwealth. We're going to invest in teachers, new facilities, special education. We're going to introduce choice within our public school system. How about that? Choice within the public school system. We're going to start with 20 charter schools. And we are going to make a down payment and close the gap on giving parents an opportunity to select where their kids go to school.
Friends, we're going to embrace our parents, not ignore them. We're going to press forward with a curriculum that includes listening to parents' input. A curriculum that allows our children to run as fast as they can, teaching them how to think, enabling their dreams, to soar.
Friends, we are going to re-establish excellence in our schools. We are fighting for parents and students and teachers in our schools. Friends, we will reduce our cost of living -- on day one, we will declare the largest tax refund in the history of Virginia. We're going to eliminate the grocery tax. Suspend the most recent hike in the gas tax. Double everybody's standard deduction. And we are going to cut taxes on the retirement income of our veterans.
All in, we are going to save Virginia families $1,500 year one. We're going to keep our communities safe. We're going to comprehensively fund law enforcement because they stand up for us and we are going to stand up for them. Higher salaries, better equipment, more training. Programs like unity in the community to work to build trust between law enforcement and those they protect and serve. We're going protect qualified immunity, invest in our behavioral health system. And finally, we will replace the entire parole board on day one.
And on day one, we're going to jump-start our jobs and reinvigorate this economy so it lifts up all Virginians. We're going to get this economy moving again, growing 400,000 new jobs, fostering 10,000 start-up businesses. Friends, Virginia will be open for business. It's time for Virginia to be the place where everyone wants to live, not leave. A place where the relentless pursuit for a better life, for prosperity, is not burdened or blocked by self-interested politicians, who are more focused on their futures than those they were elected to serve.
Over 100,000 miles on the campaign trail, I heard stories that were unique and powerful. But the reality is, the challenge of overcoming a culture where the state overwhelms self-empowerment is all-too common. For too long, we've been expected to shelve our dreams, to shelve our hope, to settle for low expectations. We will not be a Commonwealth of low expectations. We'll be a Commonwealth of high expectations.
And, friends, all of that has changed tonight. A campaign that came from nowhere. But we were joined by neighbors and friends of all races, of all religions, of all ages, of all political ideologies. And it turned into a movement. This stopped being a campaign long ago. This is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before. The spirit of Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe and Patrick henry -- Of Virginians standing up and taking our Commonwealth back.
My fellow Virginians, this is our moment. It's our moment for parents, for grandparents, for aunts, for uncles, for neighbors to change the future of Virginia’s children's lives, to change their Virginia journey. It's our time to turn that vision into a reality. It's a vision where Virginians’ power, the power that has historically resided in the marbled halls in Richmond, is spread out -- spread out to the kitchen tables that are held together with the bond of spirit, of liberty and freedom. Especially those kitchen tables where breakfast is eaten after a midnight shift.
Friends, this is where our government will go. It will be to the people, for the people, it will be of the people. From the farms of the Shenandoah Valley, to the docks and shipyards of Hampton roads, to the coal fields in southwest Virginia, to the banks of the James River, to the memorials in Arlington National Cemetery. This is our Virginia to build together.
And we are going to go to work on day one. There are always those -- there's those that say that that hill is too steep to climb, but we are empowered. We're empowered by a conviction, a righteous conviction in our children's future, we're strengthened by our collective belief in the Virginia promise. So let's climb that hill together. Let's reinvigorate our future. Let's reinvigorate this amazing Commonwealth of Virginia.
Together, together. Together. Together. We can build a new day, a new day for Virginians, where, yes, we soar and we never settle. A new day where all Virginians, all of us, can deserve to look forward to grabbing, to aspiring, to dreaming, and then achieving, that great Virginia promise. God bless you all. God bless the Commonwealth of Virginia. And let's go.