MADISON, Wis. – In case you missed it, the Republican Party of Wisconsin hosted its 2024 State Convention on Saturday in Appleton, Wisconsin. A crowd of more than 750 delegates, alternates, and other attendees filled the Fox Cities Exhibition Center for the event. State Treasurer John Leiber served as Convention Chairman and oversaw the proceedings.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming praised both the principal speakers and the delegates for their commitment to winning this November. “I couldn’t have been more pleased with the turnout from delegates and the passion we saw in the room,” Schimming said. “After this weekend, Wisconsin Republicans are unified and energized to win in November and defeat Joe Biden and Tammy Baldwin.”
The weekend began on Friday with the RNC and RPW hosting workshops for activists interested in playing a role in the 2024 campaign. The various sessions covered a variety of topics from election integrity to canvassing and more. “It’s encouraging to see so many grassroots Republicans motivated to receive the training to win at the local and national level,” WisGOP Executive Andrew Iverson said. “You can’t help but be encouraged by their determination to win over Wisconsin voters and deliver sweeping victories for Republican candidates this November.”
The first speaker of Saturday’s ceremonies was Senator Ron Johnson who made party unity a theme of his remarks before the convention. He proposed a mission statement for fellow Senate Republicans to serve as a guiding principle for the next four years: “to fight and defeat the ideology and the policies of the radical left that are destroying this country.”
Election integrity was a major point of emphasis throughout the day. During the Federal Legislator Panel with the Wisconsin congressional delegation, Congressman Bryan Steil laid out the importance of securing elections through common sense policies: “We have a huge opportunity, like we did in the state of Wisconsin, to ban Zuckerbucks. We have a big opportunity here to ban non-citizen voting.”
Other members of the Federal Legislator Panel included Rep. Glenn Grothman, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, Rep. Tom Tiffany, and Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
Special guest speaker Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) received an enthusiastic welcome from Wisconsin. “We have a simple job in 2024. It’s the job that we have been at for a while now. But we have to defeat the crazy, radical, Marxist left that has destroyed the Democrat Party,“ Congressman Donalds said. “And it’s going to be our job, Wisconsin, to send Joe Biden back into retirement.”
U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde received the unanimous endorsement of the State Convention. In his speech to the delegates, Hovde urged Wisconsin Republicans to set aside any differences and come together for the 2024 election. “I know right now there’s sometimes tension in the party. New guard coming in and the old guard. We need to unite our party,” Hovde said. “Let me give a piece of advice to both sides: to the old guard, welcome the new guard. They bring new energy, new ideas, we need them to refresh our party. And to the new guard, be respectful of the old guard. They’ve worked tirelessly for this party, not only for years but for decades. We all need to come together because we have to save this great country. We have to restore a future for our children and our grandchildren.”
The day concluded with the convention voting on resolutions and new RNC committee members. After nominations and speeches by all five candidates, Terry Dittrich and Pam Travis were elected by the delegates to serve as the representatives of the Wisconsin Republican Party to the Republican National Committee. “I congratulate Terry and Pam on their victories. I am excited to work with them both on building a stronger Republican Party on the state and national level,” Chairman Schimming said.
With the election less than six months away, Republicans are leaving Appleton energized and unified to win in November. Wisconsin Republicans previewed the record-high enthusiasm that will be on display at the 2024 Republican National Convention next month in Milwaukee. As more voters tune into the campaign, they will be reminded of the better future Republicans are offering.