2025 Election Guide
Celebrating traditional American Values
in every town across our Great Nation
in every town across our Great Nation
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery:
Thank you, Governor Polis for your leadership and friendship over the last year.
Your commitment to education and the well-being of children will continue to pay dividends long after your term as Governor has concluded.
Join me for one more round of applause for Governor Polis.
I’m excited to announce NGA’s leadership for the 2025-2026 year.
This year, our Executive Committee members are:
Thank you all for your willingness to serve.
I’m also pleased to announce that we have voted to elect Maryland Governor Wes Moore as vice chair and Chair-elect.
Lastly, I want to thank all the governors and sponsors for your support and engagement in the National Governors Association.
I’m honored to serve as the chair of this great organization and I’m excited to work with you all this year.
As Governors, we are uniquely positioned to lead our states and our country.
We have the responsibility to shape the trajectory of our nation.
Toward prosperity or toward apathy.
Our nation was built on the idea that every person was created in the image of God, and the circumstances of your birth should not define the outcome of your life.
When our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to this new country, they dreamed of something greater – of self governance and freedom from tyranny.
They sacrificed for a nation where you were only limited by your imagination. Where the only opportunity unavailable to you was the one you were unwilling to work for.
They put forth the belief that our rights come from God not the government. This sparked a movement around the world, and it continues to inspire people today.
From that spark, our country became a launching pad for innovation - new agricultural practices, the light bulb, to lifesaving medications, and massive technological advances.
This idea inspired a notion that we could do the impossible. And we proved it with an airplane at Kitty Hawk to a man on the moon in 66 years.
Stop and think about that for a minute.
In this country, a child, regardless of his or her background can grow up to be a teacher, a doctor, a CEO – or even President.
Even a shy pastor’s kid from Norman, Oklahoma can become Governor.
We live in a nation founded on the belief that you can achieve any dream God places on your heart, yet nearly 250 years later, that dream doesn’t always seem so close.
Nearly 50% of Americans believe the American Dream is out of reach.
Does that mean the American Dream dead?
Can I have a satisfying career?
Can I afford to buy a house?
Can I give my kids a better life than I had?
As long as we have the freedom to get an education, to build a business or pursue a career, the American Dream is not dead.
This year, we are going to reignite the belief in the American Dream.
For the American Dream to thrive, Americans need access to good jobs, a relevant and impactful education system, and energy that can power our future.
First, we need to unlock opportunity for good jobs.
States should foster a business friendly environment for entrepreneurs to create jobs. This is accomplished with pro-business policies and fewer regulations.
States inject billions on siloed efforts to improve their workforce, but we’re not seeing results.
This year, I’m going to partner with organizations like Good Jobs Economy and Google to help states build modern talent systems—ones that connect people to real opportunities.
A good job is one that gives a family the chance to live out their American dream – whether that be a home with a big yard in the suburbs or an apartment in the city. From running your family farm and sending your kids to college –
And every dream in between.
I urge every state to explore innovative ways to do that. One way would be by creating a Good Jobs Fund in partnership with businesses and philanthropy.
In Oklahoma, we’re launching a $19 million pilot fund.
In Maryland, Governor Moore is looking to invest $25 million.
These funds allow us to innovate, disrupt outdated systems, and reward real results—paying for performance instead of propping up broken models.
We also need learning that lifts. The reality is that students will get good jobs if our education system is better aligned to student interests and businesses’ needs.
This year, we’re going to explore innovative education models to better link education to careers.
I love bragging on the Oklahoma Aviation Academy. It’s a special public high school set up to train future pilots and aviation mechanics starting their freshman year of high school.
Here’s the deal – students need heroes and role models.
I want us to look at how we can expand apprenticeships and internships, so students get real-world training earlier in their academic career.
We can give students meaningful experiences that lead to real jobs without saddling them with debt.
Finally, we need to ensure our nation has the energy needed to power these dreams.
In Europe, people spend nearly 10% of their income on energy costs, compared to just 2% here in the U.S., making it harder for them to chase their dreams.
We are so blessed here in the U.S. to have so many different sources of energy, which drives down prices.
We need to take an innovative, energy abundance approach and promote energy sources that best fit the needs of our residents and our economies.
To win the AI race with the energy demands required, we have to lead across all fronts.
That means taking a free market approach to our energy needs, letting the market respond to the demands in our states.
We need to take meaningful action on permitting reform. I’ve been proud to co-lead the national permitting reform task force with Governor Shapiro, and we’re making real progress.
This year, I invite you to join me for convenings with experts and leading CEOs in Switzerland, Austin, and Philadelphia to explore practical steps to implement effective policy.
As Governors, it’s essential that we get the policies right.
But just as important, it’s time to restore faith in the promise that no matter where you come from, you can achieve your dreams.
We are positioned here for such a time as this. Not by accident, not by chance. But in a moment where the American people need hope. Hope that their future can be better than their present. Hope that the American Dream is within their reach.
This is especially close to my heart because of my own American Dream story.
I’m a fourth generation Oklahoman. My grandad was a dairy farmer in Skiatook, Oklahoma with an 8th grade education. My parents were pastors in Norman.
When I was in college, I wrote down my lifetime goals.
Goal number eight was “become Governor”. Then I scratched it out. It seemed just too big.
I didn’t know any governors. My parents weren’t political. We weren’t rich.
I instead wrote down, “have dinner with the Governor.” Now I get to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with the Governor.
Goal number 3 was “start a business.”
After graduation, with that list of goals tucked away, I decided to take a chance.
While my friends were becoming medical device salesmen and accountants, I took the $1000 I had in my bank account and a computer and started Gateway Mortgage.
Many times, this dream, my American Dream came close to failure.
During the housing crisis of 2008 I thought we were going to go out of business like thousands of other companies.
But I refused to give up.
I said to myself, “it’s not over until I win.”
Today, Gateway First Bank services over $20 billion in home loans across 42 states as we help thousands of people chase their American Dream through home ownership.
But one day, in 2017, my faith was leading me to believe it was time to run for Governor.
I was so nervous and scared, but I knew it was time to chase that dream put into my heart so many years ago.
The beautiful thing about the American Dream is that there are as many dreams as there are people.
You may not want to build a bank. Maybe you want to teach music. Maybe you want to start a restaurant. Maybe you’ll be the next Marine One pilot.
Whatever that dream is – don’t let anyone tell you it’s dead.
As leaders, we can’t teach people that there are equal outcomes, but it’s our job to make sure everyone has equal opportunities to chase their dreams.
The American Dream doesn’t need to be reimagined. It needs to be reignited. And as we prepare to celebrate the 250th birthday of America, we are going to do just that.
No Dream is out of reach. No dream is dead until you give up.
Even when everyone is telling us that we are too divided as a country, that there is nothing that the right and the left can agree on, let’s remind them that we agree on this.
That we can Reignite the American Dream and make it possible for the next 250 years.
The American Dream is alive and well.
May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.