GOVERNOR-ELECT RICK SNYDER: THE HARD WORK BEGINS NOW

DETROIT – Michigan voters Tuesday night handed Rick Snyder a clear mandate to reinvent Michigan, sending a clarion call for more and better jobs, a state government that is focused on providing better services for the taxpayer money being spent and an end to the partisan fighting at the state Capitol.

"We've got a vision, we've got a plan – now it's time to take action," Snyder said.

Snyder cautioned that even though the election is over, the hard work is just beginning, and said that getting Michigan back on the path to prosperity will require fundamentally reinventing the state.

Snyder watched the election results with his family and close friends at the historic Book Cadillac hotel in Detroit when his opponent called to concede. Snyder thanked the Lansing mayor for a hard-fought campaign and said he looks forward to working together to restore Michigan's central cities.

Repeating a line often used on the campaign trail, Snyder also said he looks forward to working with leaders from both parties to find solutions.

"Tonight, the only label that matters is Michigander," Snyder said. "We've got a lot of work to do to Reinvent Michigan, and we need a team of 10 million people pulling in the same direction. It's time for Republicans and Democrats; labor and management; rural, urban and suburban to come together."

Snyder also reiterated his pledge to bring a sense of urgency to Lansing:

"We are in a crisis in this state and we need to take bold action. We need to fight against the inertia that resists change. We need to fight against the entrenched attitude that we should keep doing things the same way they've always been done, just because that's the way they've always been done. It's time to stop looking in the rearview mirror. It's time to drive into the future. I'm fired up, let's go!"