Messages from Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor-Elect Austin Davis on this victory for Pennsylvanians.

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Josh Shapiro, Governor-Elect:

I am honored, humbled, and proud to serve as the next Governor of Pennsylvania.

If you take anything away from this email, let it be this: This would not have happened if you didn’t step off the sidelines, get in the game, and do your part.

Whether you knocked doors, posted on Facebook, sent texts, invested in this campaign, talked to your friends and family, or just stayed up to date on the race – your work mattered, and it paid off big time.

Tonight, real freedom prevailed in Pennsylvania.

It was a long road to get to this point — but one that will make me a better Governor for all Pennsylvanians. After 13 months of campaigning, I stand before you humbled, honored, and ready to serve as Pennsylvania’s next Governor. Together, we proved that we can meet this moment.

Though our politics are frayed and divided, we showed that we are strong enough to withstand this winter of darkness. That we can repair our politics and chart a path to a brighter tomorrow.

We proved that democracy can defeat darkness. That equality will conquer extremism. That hope is stronger than fear.

This victory is a story of millions of Pennsylvanians taking off the red jersey and the blue jersey, and putting on the Pennsylvania jersey.

We stand here with a unique opportunity – not to retreat into our partisan corners, not to continue with business as usual in Harrisburg – but to step up together and meet this moment.

It won’t always be easy. We’re going to disagree, we’re going to get into arguments, but we’re going to stay true to our values every single day.

So tonight, I stand before this Commonwealth hopeful – hopeful in our ability to work together and make life better for all 13 million Pennsylvanians. We will protect our democracy, keep abortion legal, expand economic opportunities, and make sure every Pennsylvanian has the chance to get ahead.

This team means the world to me, and we can’t tell you how much it matters that we had your support during this tough race – and I hope you’ll always be a member of this community. We’ll be in touch over the coming weeks with more ways to get involved, stay up to date, and make your voice heard in Pennsylvania.

Now, I hope you have the chance to celebrate – you truly earned it.

Thank you so much for everything.

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Austin Davis, Lieutenant Governor-Elect:

This is a special moment — a historic moment — because Pennsylvania chose unity over division, love over hate, progress over extremism.

Pennsylvania chose to elect the first Black Lieutenant Governor in our Commonwealth’s history.

And I am humbled.

From the bottom of my heart — thank you. I can’t even put into words what this moment means — and the message this sends to millions — throughout Pennsylvania and this nation.

Throughout this campaign, I’ve crisscrossed this Commonwealth — and it’s been an honor to meet and to listen to Pennsylvanians in rural, urban, and suburban communities — and in communities across our state that are too often left behind.

I saw people from all walks of life come together, from kids in North Philly and hard-working men and women in union halls, to church parishioners at Sunday masses and families at county fairs and picnics — no matter Republican, Democrat, or Independent — people came together, got off the sidelines, and made the choice to denounce hate and extremism and to unite behind a vision that would move Pennsylvania forward for everyone.

They chose to stand by leaders who they know will work for them, and put them first.

As the son of a union bus driver and a hairdresser, I know what it’s like to come from a family that oftentimes had to get creative to make ends meet.

It was because of a community that loved and cared for one another, a good public school and good teachers, and a union that allowed my father to make a living wage that allowed him to support our family, that a young Black kid from a small and old steel town too often overlooked by the powers in Washington and Harrisburg, was able to grow up to become the first Black legislator outside the city of Pittsburgh — and now the first Black Lieutenant Governor.

But this is more than just my moment — it’s so much larger than that.

This is a moment that defines us as a Commonwealth. That says to extremists, to those who sought to roll back women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights, and workers’ rights — to those who wanted to restrict our fundamental freedoms — that we won’t go back and we will never back down.

Most importantly, Pennsylvania has sent a message to young people across our Commonwealth — the next generation of leaders — that Pennsylvania will always be a place where all are welcomed and where all will have opportunities to succeed.

In the weeks leading up to this moment, I’ve thought a lot about my grandparents. One grandfather was a steel worker and the other was a railroad foreman for B&O railroad.

Both of them came to Pennsylvania from the South to create a better life for our family, just like I’m sure many of your families.

I don’t think my grandparents ever imagined that their grandson would be elected to the second highest office in this Commonwealth, but they fought to make sure that I had that chance. That I had the right to vote and that when I walked into a room — that my voice would not only be respected, but heard. They ensured that I had the opportunity to chart my own path and that I could be standing on this stage with you all right now.

I often say the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power.

That’s why I have a message for all the hardworking families across our Commonwealth. I say to you, that you are not alone, that I hear you and understand your worries, because I’ve lived them, and that as your next Lieutenant Governor — I will be your champion.

I will make whatever sacrifices are needed — just like my grandparents did for me — to ensure that every child and family in this Commonwealth has opportunities to succeed — so that every generation that comes after can be better off than the one that came before.

Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro and I are going to create an economy that works for everyone, to help working-class folks struggling with inflation, to make sure people have more money in their pockets. To make sure our kids have good schools, and that our working families have more opportunities to succeed. And because of you, starting tonight — we get to work on making those things a reality.

Thank you. Let’s get to work.