Tom Graves, of Ranger, was sworn in Monday evening, June 14, as a member of the 111th Congress during a ceremony on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Graves, who has represented Gordon County in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2002, was introduced to the full House by fellow Georgians, U.S. Reps. Jack Kingston and John Lewis.

Graves’ three young children accompanied him on the floor during the ceremony while his wife and approximately 60 supporters watched from the House gallery. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi administered the oath of office to Graves.

Following his swearing in, Graves delivered his first speech on the House floor.

“While I am standing before you today as a freshman member… I am also the freshest voice from the campaign trail, and the message from the hills of North Georgia is clear: less spending, a balanced budget, personal responsibility and empower the people,” Graves said.

Graves was the winner of a special election runoff on June 8 to fill the seat of former Rep. Nathan Deal, who resigned his seat to run for Georgia governor.