Endings

Good evening those of you watching in Great Falls, in Montana, and my family from around the country. With just a few nights left until Election Night, I have found myself reflecting on this incredible journey. While I hopeful that our story and our ideas will win out in just five short days, I can’t help but be a little woeful that our time together on the campaign trail is coming to an end.
Everything in life-good and bad, comes to an end whether we like it or not. Things change and life goes on. That’s how this whole thing works. But anybody who knows me, or who has spent time with me knows that I lament change. I am fully aware that campaigns end and elections are won and lost, but this campaign has taught me a lot more than I ever dreamed it would. It taught me love and compassion for not just those around me, but those that feel ignored, or those that feel hurt by past ills. The campaign has taught me to take risks and be more self confident. But above all, these last twelve months have taught me to cherish the relationships and that we have with our family, our significant others, and our friends.
Endings, especially campaigns ending, are inevitable, but we still have the power to choose how the story plays out. How it ends. Through your letters, emails, and conversations on doors and through the phone I have heard both the deep compassion we have for our neighbors, and the disdain we have for the hatred that is rampant in the world we live in today. All too often we let our own egos get in the way of consensus and progress. Agreement does move in lockstep with progress however. We must continue that dialogue and must continue to commit to having an open mind.
All too often I hear stories of people being betrayed by those they trusted, or being lied to, or straight up ignored. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, nor do I pretend to be, but what I will do is face the truth about my actions even if it isn’t always fun, because that is what moves us forward, not just in politics, but in life.
The point I am trying to make with you guys tonight is that do not take for granted anything you have in your life. Nothing lasts forever, and because of that, we need to treat everyone with a little more respect, tell the truth, and show some empathy. Just because everything has to come to an end does not mean endings have to be messy or ugly. But when we cast one side as being evil, or being wrong, that’s when things take a turn for the worst. Nothing is worse than an abrupt ending. A wrong ending. A campaign is supposed to end. That’s how democracy works, but what I don’t want, what my team doesn’t want is this to turn ugly, and for it to end the wrong way.

Which brings me to my final point. I have made my fair share of mistakes not only on this campaign, but in life, and some have led to endings that I wish I could take back, others have opened doors of opportunity that I would never have dreamed of. But those aren’t the endings that keep me up at night. It’s the ones that weren’t supposed to end the way they did. Do not spend the rest of your life wondering what would have changed had you realized mistakes earlier, or had you cared a little more sooner. Spend the last few days of this election cycle mending relationships, showing that compassion I know you have, and carrying ourselves with grace. Montana is the greatest state in the greatest nation on Earth, and we need to make sure that when our kids and our grandkids look back at this ending, that it was handled right, and handled with grace and dignity.

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