Above: Josh Gottheimer is re-elected as the Congressman for New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District

Yesterday, November 6, 2018, a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents swept Josh Gottheimer to victory as the newly re-elected Congressman for New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District. Gottheimer defeated his opponent by nearly 12 points in a District that voted for President Trump in 2016.

Below: Excerpts of Josh Gottheimer’s Election Night remarks as prepared for delivery

Two years ago, they said it was impossible. That we couldn’t win here. The odds were too long, the ads too expensive, the District simply too partisan.

Then, together, we proved them wrong. Handshake by handshake, call by call, living room by living room, diner by diner, vote by vote, you, all of you, bucked the national trend and we defeated a seven-term Tea Party extremist.

The next morning, the naysayers were back at it, and so were the extremists. They all told us it was a fluke. That we could never win again.

But we did the job. We worked for everyone regardless of where they lived or who they voted for. From Sussex to Warren, Bergen to Passaic, we worked together, as problem solvers, with mayors and councils, with businesses of all sizes, with our brothers and sisters in labor, as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and more importantly, as Americans, for what was best for New Jersey.

We fought to cut taxes and red tape and to claw back more dollars to Jersey from the Moocher States, for better roads and rails from Gateway to Lackawanna, for more affordable health care for our families and seniors, and clean drinking water for our kids, for having the backs of law enforcement, firefighters, and vets. We fought for Jersey Values.

More than anything, together, we proved that unity beats division, that bipartisanship beats extremism, that progress beats obstructionism.

So, tonight, together, we’ve officially proved the naysayers wrong again, and I’m very proud to stand before you, once again, as the Congressman for Fifth Congressional District of New Jersey.

Tonight’s victory is a clear win for all those in the common-sense middle and for the values we hold so dear. Now it’s our time to bind up our nation’s wounds. It’s our time to come together, and move forward, remembering that extremism, on either side, holds our country back. Division isn’t the answer. Neither is obstruction for the sake of it, or attacking success, and old-time class warfare. Now, more than ever, we must work together, united, as one nation under God, to solve the challenges we face and seize upon the opportunities ahead. We must sew together the flag that some have tried but failed to tear apart.

But we cannot lead by just saying no. We need a vision for what we’re for, not just for what we’re against, because, as it’s said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

At our core, we believe in opportunity for all and responsibility from all. In good jobs and a good education, in fighting crime and terror to keep our communities safe, in looking out for one another, in taking care of our children and our seniors, in always getting the backs of those whose get ours, and, of course, in lower taxes, and our Jersey Values.

That’s our vision, and now that it looks like the Democrats will be in the majority in the House – and that New Jersey was the catalyst for that change — it is time for us not just to mouth the words, but to come together for commonsense policies that put country ahead of partisanship.

And there’s plenty we can agree on. I know firsthand.

In the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to work with both sides, frankly with anyone, to do what’s best for our state and our country…