Biden-Harris ticket wins the presidential election

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Today, news media all over the world called the presidential election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

I am grateful to all the voters who turned out to participate in this election, and to all the election workers who continued to count votes under enormous scrutiny, long hours, and in some cases, threats of physical violence against them.

There were moments during this campaign when I sometimes wondered if our democracy would survive. It not only survived, it came back roaring. I am especially grateful to Black Americans who supported the Biden-Harris ticket in such huge numbers.

Kamala Harris' election to Vice President is historic. She will be not only the first woman, but the first African-American and Asian-American to hold that office. I am proud of my country for supporting her.

It is time to heal this country. It is time to do the hard work to repair the damage that the outgoing President has done to our country. It is time to tackle the challenges before us: coronavirus, racial injustice, economic recession, and climate change. It is time to live in reality, not reality television.

It is also time to demand more from ourselves and our neighbors. Personal behavior reached a new low in the past four years. LeAnne, my wife, was harassed numerous times in the act of grocery shopping by Trumpeters who felt entitled to criticize her for wearing colorful clothes, that in their mind marked her as a political enemy. She was not intimidated by this. She stood her ground. She even stepped in to speak up for people of color she saw being harassed in the same way.

I will be watching my friends on social media. Anyone spreading misinformation or denigrating our democracy will be called out for it, or anyone advocating violence will be unfriended.

But that isn't what I hope for. I hope that this result will lead us all to reflect, and perhaps reach out to people who disagree with them. I will be waiting for the call.

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