Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley Re-Elected to Third Term Representing Massachusetts’ 7th District
The Congresswoman delivered remarks at an election night celebration alongside fellow Democratic candidates and supporters
Boston, MA, November 8 – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley was decisively re-elected to a third term as U.S. Representative from Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District, a seat she has held since 2018, when she made history as the first woman of color elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress. 
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley。 (File Photo, Boston Orange)
After polls closed, Congresswoman Pressley joined Governor-elect Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor-elect Kim Driscoll, Attorney General-elect Andrea Campbell, Auditor-elect Diana DiZoglio, other Democratic candidates and officeholders, and hundreds of supporters at an election night celebration. In her remarks, Congresswoman Pressley highlighted the historic nature of the election in Massachusetts, shared her gratitude to voters who made their voices heard, and emphasized our continued, collective power to create positive change for all of our communities.
The Congresswoman’s full remarks, as delivered on election night, are below:
Good evening Massachusetts!
It is a meaningful night to join you at home in our Commonwealth.
Four years ago, I ran on a mandate that Change Can’t Wait. And four years later, I can honestly say, change is on the way.
That didn’t just happen. It’s because of you, Massachusetts.
It means everything to me to be a part of this movement. This movement of innovators, of artists, of organizers, and community builders.
And it’s very full circle. It was just four years ago that I stood on this very stage alongside Conan, Cora, my team, and supporters, and asked you if a Congresswoman could rock braids, a black leather jacket, and a bold red lip. You responded with a resounding yes.
And today, with my re-election to a third term, you affirmed that a Congresswoman can rock a bald crown in the corridors of power. You’ve entrusted me to carry your stories and to partner with you on solutions that meet the moment.
And change is on the way.
A shift is afoot. Beginning with the election of Andrea Campbell.
Of Kim Driscoll.
Of Maura Healey, our next Governor.
That’s right y’all, hand clap yourselves.
Everyone in this room hustled to make this night possible. But movements do not materialize from thin air.
Women who are Black, brown, indigenous, AAPI, disabled and queer do not rise to the highest office out of manifest destiny. No, tonight’s victories are not the result of flukes, waves, or magic. They are the result of good, old fashioned hard work. The work that women have been doing for generations. Work felt deeply in community, but too often relegated to a footnote in history or erased altogether.
Tonight, there will be no hidden figures. Tonight, there will be no erasure. History is going to get it right. Because tonight, Massachusetts, we are the chapter, the verse and the whole damn title page.
Now, the path to arrive at this place tonight was not easy.
Throughout our nation’s history, we have seen that progress is not linear.
Progress is the shared mantle of a deep and diverse coalition of people, from every walk of life. And yet, we know that some will try to drive us backwards and try to divide us.
I need to say this, to those who shudder and are fearful at the thought of progress, let me just say, you have nothing to lose - and we all have everything to gain.
I want to share a story with you. It’s a painful story, but a cautionary one. A part of our nation’s history. Some towns in our country, when faced with the prospect of integrating their spaces of public accommodation, like swimming pools, were filled with such fear of progress that they responded with cruelty and hate. And instead of integrating those pools, they chose instead to fill those public pools with dirt and concrete, instead of allowing Black people to swim alongside them.
It was a fearful and hateful knee jerk reaction to progress. While children sat there and watched these swimming pools fill with concrete, those people, those towns deprived everyone of joy. They deprived everyone of respite. They deprived everyone of community.
Boston. Massachusetts. America. We do not – and we will not – walk in the direction of fear and hatred.
We will not listen to those who tell us that the advancement of the marginalized is a loss for those who are doing OK.
We reject that false narrative, that divisive narrative, that false choice.
The reality is, when one of us thrives - we all do. When our nation becomes more just and equitable, everyone benefits.
And Massachusetts is leading the change which affirms that representation matters. That leadership matters. That vision matters.
Tonight’s historic electoral victories are just the beginning. We are going to change the narrative of people’s lives. Massachusetts, we take our rightful place as we show the nation what is possible and advance policies that uplift the collective.
We are building a whole new table – where those from every walk of life are centered in our policy making.
This is about proclaiming that Massachusetts is big enough, kind enough, and caring enough for all of us. Are you with me?
Alright y’all, listen. Tonight, on TV, pundits will tell you a story. And no matter the outcome of these elections their tone will be cynical. They will minimize the stories from across this nation of resilience. Of inclusion. Of progress.
But Massachusetts, tomorrow, when you go out into that world, don’t tell them about the pundits, tell them about the people.
And Massachusetts, I’m not talking about the people who give speeches, I'm talking about the heroes who carry clipboards.
Tell them about the organizer who lost her mother to cancer and dedicated her life to electing a Democrat as Governor, because she didn’t want another grieving family to know the hardship of a broken healthcare system.
Don’t tell them about the pundits, tell them about the people.
Tell them about the father who swore to his teenage daughters he would join them to knock doors every Saturday because he believes in their fundamental right to bodily autonomy and abortion care.
Don’t tell them about the pundits, tell them about the people.
About the grandmother who registered her church choir to vote, got folks in mini vans, who took her grandbaby to a voting booth for the first time.
Don’t tell them about the pundits tomorrow, Massachusetts, tell them about the people.
The laborer who after his shift each week, got on the phones to tell his brothers and sisters in the labor movement about the stakes of this election.
Don’t tell them about the pundits, tell them about the people.
About the young Pastor who, right here in the Massachusetts 7th, at the bedside of a congregant in hospice, at her request, helped her send in a ballot so she could claim her stakehold in our democracy.
Don’t tell them, tomorrow, Massahusetts, about the pundits, tell them about the people. Because we, the people, are powerful and change is on the way because of the power in this room.
This nation is not powerful because of its legal texts or its marble institutions. It is the power of our people.
And tonight I’m here to deliver a message of hope. Deep and lasting hope. Bone deep, ancestral hope. The kind of hope that burned in the hearts of trans folks at Stonewall. The kind of hope that steadied the footsteps of Ruby Bridges. The kind of hope that guided the advocacy of Mel King. You need to clap for these people, these foot soldiers, you are all the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.
Hope is a discipline. For history and progress are not linear. And in each generation, the arc of justice meets the backlash of fear. But yet and still, we press on. Because we want to leave our babies a world better than the one we found. Because we want to be better ancestors than descendents. Because we believe in the power of us.
Massachusetts, this is a beautiful night to call the Commonwealth home. We are making history. We are making change. And most of all, we are rejecting the politics of fear and hatred because tonight, Massachusetts, We are showing the nation what is possible. I believe in the power of us.
Congratulations, Massachusetts.
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