By Kyle Schroeder
Things are not good for young people in America right now. Inflation is rising, opportunities to buy houses and start families are decreasing, and the media seems more focused on campus radicals and political trials than on real issues that impact millions of Americans.
As chaos seems to be the focus of so many in American and Wisconsin politics right now, the Wisconsin Young Republicans stand ready to fight for freedom and take back control in 2024. The WIYRs are the only organization with the infrastructure, the manpower and the sheer will to deliver results come election day. We have proven this time and time again across this state.
The best recent example of this is one of our victories in the elections this past spring. In a race for the Waukesha School Board, three conservative candidates were facing two leftist challengers. Over the past few years, the conservative majority on the Waukesha School Board has achieved some fantastic victories – ensuring that test scores are on the rise, standing up for free speech, and looking out for taxpayer dollars through it all. In response to this, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin put more than $45,000 behind their candidates. Not only that, they also sent Jill Underly and flew in a Congresswoman from Ililnois to come to Waukesha to pander to voters.
The Wisconsin Young Republicans were the only organization to step up and help these candidates. Over the course of three months, we did door deployments almost every weekend and knocked over 30,000 doors. Better than any mail piece or digital ad, our ground game is what makes the difference. In the end, our hard work paid off. All three of our supported candidates for the Waukesha School Board won their seats by wide margins.
This is true not only for Waukesha, but across the state. Young Republicans deployed across the state this past spring and 80% of our endorsed candidates won their election. We have members in every Wisconsin congressional district, and several of our members helped lead some of the major campaigns this cycle. WIYR involvement was critical in electing Doug Diny to be mayor of Wausau, Jacob Floam to the liberal Oshkosh City Council, and Nolan Jackett to the Hartford Union School Board.
We don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Wisconsin Young Republicans have committed to making more than 1.5 million voter contacts between now and the November election. Joe Biden and Tammy Baldwin represent the outdated liberal establishment, and the things that they fight for are not prosperous for any Americans, but especially not young people. We are committed to being the change and making the difference to win elections, this year, and in every year to come.
We continue to focus on the growth of our organization throughout the Great State of Wisconsin. Since November of 2023 we have added four new chapters – in the Fox Valley, Green Bay, Washington County and Jefferson County. Over the last year we have grown by more than 200 members statewide. In just a few short weeks we will officially be opening an office in Waukesha, the first office of any Young Republican federation in the Nation.
Our State’s motto is Forward. To us, that motto is not just a goal for the future; it is a mandate right now. In President Ronald Reagan’s 1989 Farewell address, he said, “The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we’re a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours. And something else we learned: Once you begin a great movement, there’s no telling where it will end.” America is a great nation. Wisconsin is a great state. The Wisconsin Young Republicans are a great movement, and we are ready to continue moving this state and nation Forward.
