Michigan candidate for Senate, John James, gave a passionate and meaningful speech at CPAC in Maryland last week and received many standing ovations from the crowd.

The evident theme at CPAC was America vs. socialism and James did a great job at explaining the appeal of socialism and how to fight against it.

James warned the crowd, “Do not underestimate the appeal of socialism… We must counter the socialist movement of envy and confiscation with a conservative movement of access and opportunity. We must show this generation that free will and free enterprise benefits each of us without sacrificing compassion and conscientiousness for all of us.”

He described how his dad became successful through hard work and ended up owning a $35 million company. When James took over his dad’s company in 2012, he helped grow James Group International to a $135 million company in under five years.

James said, “My father, like so many others who immigrated from all over the world and from the Jim Crow south for better opportunities, never asked for free stuff. They asked for a fair shot. I am not standing here on this stage because of socialism. I am standing here because of free enterprise and free will and because self-determination works.”

He talked about how his family was blessed with opportunity. He said, “You show me where in the world you can go from slave to senator in four generations, and from poverty to prosperity in one and I’ll show you the United States of America. I’ll show you the American Dream.”

James, a black Army veteran, has lived the American Dream and wants others to have the same opportunity. After school, James attended West Point and became a Ranger-qualified Apache fighter pilot. He flew 750 hours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, earned a Combat Action Badge (CAB) and two Air Medals and led two Apache platoons.

James also took advantage of getting a good education. He has a BA from West Point, a Master of Supply Chain Management and Information Systems from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan, all of which has helped him make his father’s company even more successful.

In 2018, James ran for the Senate against deep state Democrat incumbent Debbie Stabenow and lost by only six percentage points. Not bad for a new guy on the scene without the name recognition that Stabenow has. Now James is up against Senator Gary Peters who is an attorney running for a second term.

James’ message is a good one, recognizing hard work and giving back to the community. He said, “I was taught to use my blessings to be a blessing to others. I was taught to take something good that you’ve received and turn it into something greater.”

James continued to praise America throughout his speech as the land of opportunity, “This is the greatest country on the planet,” he said. “I am the walking result of the American Dream and I believe the American Dream is worth fighting for.”

You can watch his entire speech here.