June 17, 2023
Heuer Wins Prestigious Award
The Wisconsin Republican Convention was recently held in La Crosse
Wisconsin from June 16-18. On the convention floor, it was announced
that Ron Heuer, former Chairman of the Kewaunee County Republican
Party (KCRP), had received the Alvan E. Bovay Award in recognition of his
outstanding dedication to the Republican Party. Bovay is recognized as
the founder of the GOP.
Heuer stepped down as Chairman of the KCRP on January of this year
after serving for 13 years in that capacity. In those 13 years, Heuer was
instrumental in building and strengthening the local party. Heuer put in
countless hours, encouraged many to run for local office, and he ran for
local office himself serving on the Kewaunee County Board and eventually
becoming the County Board Chairman. Ron also founded the Wisconsin
Voter Alliance (WVA), an organization dedicated to ensuring voting integrity
in Wisconsin and he continues to serve as that organization’s President.
Congressman Mike Gallagher has known Heuer since Gallagher was first
elected to Congress. Gallagher commented that “Ron is a true leader who
never asked his members to do what he wasn’t willing to do himself. I
cannot think of a more deserving recipient for the Alvan Bovay Award than
Ron Heuer.”
Ron’s successor as KCRP Chairman, Kirt Johnson, stated that “It is
individuals like Ron Heuer who are the backbone of our party.” Johnson
indicated that he was not aware that anyone from Kewaunee County had
ever won that award previously. (Photo shows Johnson officially presenting
the award to Heuer.)
Posted June 14, 2023
KCRP Members & Supporters – I have a few items I wanted to bring to your attention:
Sign Storage — We need a location to store about 25-30 4’x8’ GOP candidate signs as we need to move them from their current location. These 4x8s are very light and the combined width of 25-30 side by side is less than a foot so they don’t really take up that much space. Someone with a farm and a number of outbuildings should easily be able to find a spot for them. We would deliver them and help put them in the storage location and then we would come pick them up sometime next year for the 2024 campaign cycle. Please get in touch with me if you would be willing to help us out – much appreciated!
Representative Gallagher – I know some of you have asked whether Gallagher might challenge Senator Baldwin who is up for reelection next year. Late last week, Gallagher announced that he will not mount a challenge to Baldwin but will instead run for re-election to his House seat in 2024. Baldwin needs to go and we need a good candidate. Stay tuned as to which Republicans will eventually throw their hat in the ring.
GOP Presidential Candidates – As you well know, the number of GOP Presidential primary contenders continues to grow. In addition to former President Trump, we now have the following list of candidates in the race. I’m listing them in order of their announcement date and am providing you the link to their websites –
- Nikki Haley – Former Governor SC and former UN Ambassador
- Vivek Ramaswamy – Entrepreneur and former tech CEO
- Asa Hutchinson – Former Arkansas Congressman and former Arkansas Governor
- Tim Scott – U.S. Senator from South Carolina
- Ron DeSantis – Governor of Florida
- Chris Christie – Former NJ Governor
- Mike Pence – Former Indiana Congressman, former Indiana Governor and former VP
- Doug Burgum – Governor of North Dakota
And that list could get longer. Frankly, there are many excellent candidates on this list and any of them would be a massive improvement over Joe Biden. Even the relatively unknown Vivek Ramaswamy comes across as a bright articulate conservative who is highlighting some excellent issues. This list clearly shows that the Republican bench is much much deeper than the Democrat bench. Democrats can’t seem to find anyone better than Biden which is an extremely sad commentary on the state of the Democrat party.
In addition to considering which of the GOP contenders we each might personally prefer, we have to consider which candidate can actually win the general election in 2024. It doesn’t do us much good to nominate a Presidential candidate that can’t win in November. So, let me ask the question that is being discussed by rank-and-file Republicans all over the country — “Considering all that has happened up to this point, can Trump win the general election?” If you think he can, then he is your man. If you think he is too damaged and has turned off too large a percentage of the electorate, then you have to decide who is the best or strongest candidate of the other contenders. That is going to be the critical question as we head into next year. And whoever our eventual nominee is, all of us have to give it everything we’ve got to support our candidate as it is absolutely critical that we regain the White House in 2024.
Finally, I would note that a lot can happen in the nest year that could impact the course of the primary campaign for both Republicans and Democrats. I am still not convinced that Biden will end of being the Democrat candidate. Biden could have some epic embarrassing moment that would drive home the point to literally everyone that he is too old and is too mentally compromised to be a serious candidate for President again. And with a number of investigations into Biden and his son, legal troubles could certainly derail a Biden candidacy. On our side of the ledger, it is hard to know what might transpire on the legal front for Trump and how that might impact his candidacy. Also, could there be some defining moment in the next year that will clearly propel or sink Trump’s effort to be the Republican nominee for a third time? And Trump isn’t getting any younger himself. DeSantis appears to be the strongest alternative to Trump at this point. Will DeSantis gain momentum or will someone else gain traction?
In any case, I urge everyone to keep an open mind as it is still early. I’d be happy to chat about it all and interested to hear your thoughts at this point if you feel inclined to share them with me. Kirt Johnson, Chairman