ALLENTOWN, PA – Today, Congresswoman Susan Wild released the following statement:

“There is no sugarcoating it: this is a bitterly disappointing outcome. In a moment, I am going to talk about how our fight — for reproductive rights, for affordable health care, for equality, for a clean and safe planet — can and must endure. But first, it is of utmost importance that I first state what should be obvious: I lost this election, and my opponent won. I congratulate my opponent on winning this seat, and I am going to do everything to ensure a smooth transition, because the people of this district deserve nothing less.

This is how American democracy works. It’s how we move forward. And it is absolutely crucial that candidates, in victory and in defeat, abide by this principle. You cannot only recognize the results of elections you win, no matter how much you may disagree with them.

When it comes to serving our community, we are stronger when we find common ground.

I am so incredibly proud of what my team and I have been able to accomplish in just six years. When I first got to Congress in 2018, I made it my personal mission to put our district on the map. Too often, when folks think of Pennsylvania they think of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Now, I’m so heartened by the attention and investments we’ve been able to bring home.

Not only did we open the first federal office Carbon County has ever had, but right here in Allentown, we were one of only six cities across the country selected for a grant that will improve the city’s employment rates. Once overlooked on the national stage, we now routinely announce new jobs, new resources, new ways to bring opportunity to the Greater Lehigh Valley.

Ultimately, that’s what this job is all about: Serving the people of the Greater Lehigh Valley. And it has been the greatest privilege of my life to be able to do that.

I’m proud of what we achieved together. I am proud to have passed legislation to strengthen health care protections and lower prescription drug costs for working families. Proud to have stood up to the greed of Big Pharma and other powerful corporate interests — even while knowing that those corporate interests would spend untold millions trying to remove me from office. Proud to have worked to protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. Proud to have stood with the labor movement and joined workers on countless picket lines. Proud that I never wavered on putting my office on the side of the people of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

I understand the very real fear that many of those who supported me likely feel, as we wonder what’s next for our community and country. To all of you who worked tirelessly to keep this seat in Democratic hands, know this: I will continue to use my voice to fight for the causes that drove me to run for office in the first place. Women’s rights, workers’ rights, affordable health care, democracy itself, are all issues that require constant engagement, from all of us, to form a better country.

I will be available to assist Ryan Mackenzie as he prepares himself to represent this wonderful, complex district. I encourage him to take to heart the advice that those before me bestowed: that no matter who is in the White House, his job is to deliver results for this community.

This election may not have gone the way we hoped, but the fight continues on.

Let us dust ourselves off and get right back up. Let’s get back to work — organizing for the future that our community needs and deserves. There is simply no time for anything else.

Thank you all to the honor and trust you placed in me these past six years. This has been the most challenging, most rewarding, most important job I could have ever hoped for.”

Information provided to TVL by:
Team Susan Wild for Congress