State GOP Chair candidate Drew Born has filled out the Grand New Party’s candidate survey. He is the first to fill out our candidate survey. Please reach out to state GOP chair candidates and urge them to fill out the survey. It can be accessed here.
Question:
What are your fundraising goals for the 2024 election cycle and how do you plan to raise the money needed to perform the core functions of the state party, such as holding regular political conventions, field staff, and messaging?
Answer:
$25-40 million. This needs to be done multiple ways through donors. Expecting it from delegates isn’t an option. Fund raising needs to be done through small donors and large. Ideally I would like to repeat what I did for a Christian school. I set up a donation campaign for recurring donations, some people did a dollar, some $20, and others thousands. But every month they would get charged. We had roughly 200 donors for the school. If we lost a donor, our bottom line wasn’t affected much because it was a recurring 1/200. For the price of a cup of coffee a month we can find the day to day operations with many donors. This needs to be paired with funding from larger donors. The large donor base has significantly dropped off the last 3 cycles, we need to rebuild confidence in the migop leadership with the donor base and bring in larger donations as well.
Question:
What strengths will you bring as a leader while serving as the next MRP Chair?
Answer:
Leadership and relationships. I know the passion of the base and the pockets of the donors. We can’t have one without the other. We need to unify to win and beat democrats.
Question:
Will you attempt to re-engage the so-called “Donor Class” that has typically funded Republican causes in Michigan in the past? Is it necessary to cultivate an entirely new “Donor Class” to fund MRP operations or can a middle ground be achieved? Please elaborate.
Answer:
Please see previous note but yes I will. The donor class has not stopped donating money, they just have stopped donating to MIGOP, we need to revitalize their confidence in leadership and bring that money back to Michigan. At the same time, these relationships are vital when we need to tell them to stay out of a race if there is division amongst the party.
Do you agree with the vast majority of Republican Party elected officials who (like Democrats) pick winners and losers and support centralized planning through corporate welfare schemes, or do you believe in free markets and equal opportunity for all businesses in Michigan? Why?
Answer:
I believe in free market. Just because someone has the most amount of money or the largest following does not mean they have the best chance of winning.
Question:
Although both are important, what is more important to you – unity around Republican politicians or unity around the principles of the Republican Party? Why? (Note: The GNP disavows all third-party candidates)
Answer:
Republican principles. Our principles are what hold us accountable. We need a candidate that lives a life that reflects the republican principles, does not bow to special interest, and is capable of pulling the middle voters because of the principles and values that we hold dear. These principles are what make us proud to be an American and Republican.
Question:
How will you protect the authority of precinct delegates as party chair and make sure their interests are put at the forefront of the MRP? Will you take our Precinct Protection Pledge to go on the record in support of the rights of precinct delegates and the expansion of those rights for delegates to choose candidates for additional elected offices? Pledge Available Here.
Answer:
Yes I will take the pledge. The delegate position is a right and should not be changed.
The Heartbeat Bill spurred a contentious debate within the Pro-Life movement of Michigan.
Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference argued the heartbeat bill would have jeopardized the 1931 full ban on abortion (MCL 750.14).
The Heartbeat Coalition and Jay Sekulow’s American Center for Law and Justice carefully wrote the heartbeat bill with clause 8(4) that reads “nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal or amend, explicitly or by implication, any provision of law prohibiting or regulating abortion, including, but not limited to… MCL 750.14, 750.15, 750.322, and 750.323.
Who do you believe was right about the Heartbeat Bill and what do you think the Pro-Life movement needs to do moving forward to protect life in the aftermath of the passage of Proposal 3?
Answer:
Right to life is correct, there should be no exception to abortion. The heartbeat bill does jeopardize the full ban. Proposal 3 goes so much deeper than just abortion that needs to be stopped but in regards to the right to life, I don’t believe there are any exceptions, our biblical and Republican principles don’t allow for any exceptions. We need to win back a Republican majority in 2024 to make sure we can pass bills to stop all aspects of proposal 3.
Question:
How will you use the authority of the MRP to fight voter fraud in the state of Michigan and make sure that election integrity is restored? How will you effectively fight back against Democrats in power who refuse to enforce the law?
Answer:
Personally, I’d like to get rid of absentee voting but with proposal two that is very unlikely to happen ever. We need to pass voter id laws. We need to have the best legal firms hired to combat illegal activity. And we need to make sure that no county clerks submit vote totals until Wayne county does.
With the youth trending toward leftism on social issues, what is your plan to re-engage the youth and reverse this slide toward socialism that puts our nation’s future in jeopardy? Do you believe that Republicans should trend toward the middle or focus on winning the arguments to engage the youth?
Answer:
I do not believe the we should sacrifice our principles to swing over the youth. Most young voters are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I believe most Americans are fiscally conservative and socially libertarian. We need to be the party of love and acceptance and stop playing into the hands of the democrats with stupid fights we will never win. We will never win over the youth if we keep fighting amongst ourselves. We need to support conservative efforts on college campuses, encourage our student leaders and let them know that we have their backs when they are attacked.
Do you think the Republican Legislature did the right thing in December by not sending strong policies to the governor believing she would veto them or do you think they should have put her on record for vetoing bills–such as ensuring males don’t compete against women in women’s sports? Will you use your power as MRP Chair to compel the Michigan state legislature to support strong legislation instead of coming up with excuses for inaction? How will you use the bully pulpit of the Party to enforce principled behavior by elected lawmakers?
Answer:
We need to hold our elected officials accountable but also let them know they have our support. If an elected official is not keeping their promises and voting against Republican principles, we need to hold them accountable and replace them. When they stand up for our principles and go to fight, they need to know we have they backs and will support them.
Question:
Will special interest groups and lobbyists influence the MRP? Will they be shut out entirely? Are there any lobbying groups or special interest groups (on issues such as gun rights or abortion) that you feel are worthwhile?
Answer:
The only special interest groups that have a place in Lansing are groups that support the constitution.
Leave A Comment