A Growing Movement
For my long-time readers, you may remember that I talked about Run Gen Z a while back. I’ve encountered this organization in the past. Nevertheless, I wanted to share my recent experience at Run Gen Z’s 2nd annual candidate conference.
Before I talk about the conference, I will give a little bit of background about Run Gen Z and how I got involved with it.
First off, Run Gen Z’s mission is to “empower and mentor conservative trailblazers from Generation Z to pursue leadership opportunities, including public office that allow them to work toward a more constitutionally-focused government.” In short, this organization helps young conservatives run for political office on the state and local level.
Run Gen Z’s founders–Joe Mitchell, Mason Morgan, and more–founded this fast-growing organization in 2020. In less than two years, this group has helped elect over a dozen Gen Z conservatives to office and has hosted several candidate workshops across the country. Moreover, hundreds of young conservatives have applied to become a part of this organization. In my humble opinion, it’s truly remarkable to see how much of a positive impact Run Gen Z has made in such a short period of time.
Now you may be wondering how I even heard of Run Gen Z. Good question.
I first heard about Run Gen Z in December 2020–when I attended Turning Point USA’s 2020 Student Action Summit. An acquaintance of mine at the time told me that about Run Gen Z, but I didn’t think much of it then.
Fast forward to April 2021. Back then, I attended the Spring Convention of the Texas Federation of College Republicans. At this convention, I listened to a member of Run Gen Z named Joel Castro. Joel was elected to the city council of Alvin, Texas when he was in HIGH SCHOOL. His speech definitely encouraged me to look into the organization.
Then in July 2021, I finally got connected with Run Gen Z at Turning Point USA’s 2021 Student Action Summit. At SAS 2021, I attended a Run Gen Z breakout session with panelists Ebo Entsuah and Caleb Hanna. Their panel encouraged me to finally take the plunge and apply to become a part of Run Gen Z in Fall 2021.
I am grateful that Run Gen Z accepted my application, and that’s why I was able to attend Run Gen Z’s conference last weekend. With that, let’s dive right now into the conference.
A Conference to Remember
Last weekend, Run Gen Z hosted its 2nd annual candidate conference in Dallas, Texas. Dozens of Gen Z conservatives (from across the country) traveled to Dallas in order to network, listen to informative speakers, and learn more about running for political office
The conference was divided into two days. The first day hosted several fantastic speakers–including former Iowa Governor Terry Branstadt and Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyers.
Of course, the speakers and panels provided plenty of practical advice for political newbies like myself.
For the uninitiated, state and local elections do not have the glamour that US Congressional and Presidential races have. Instead, it takes grit, determination, and lots of door-knocking to win these lesser-publicized elections. If there’s anything that I took away from the conference, it would be that door-knocking & talking with local voters are two huge keys to victory. Still, that advice is just a snippet of everything I learned from the conference.
On Day 2 of the conference, the candidates had the chance to visit the George W. Bush Presidential library in the morning. Funny enough, I had a lot of fun chatting about Pat J. Buchanan with one of the other conference attendees during the library visit. PJB would’ve been proud haha.
Later in the day, former New Mexico Governor Suzanna Martinez gave a heart-felt speech about her life and time as governor. In her speech, Governor Martinez said something that has stuck with me. She said that the goal of the conservative movement/Republican party is to “create a Bench”. We need America-First conservatives to fill the halls of government–from Washington D.C. to your local city council. Having attended this conference, I now believe that bringing in America-First conservatives into positions of power is one key to the future of our nation.
The reality is that positions of power will always exist. So, should we allow America-last corporatists, neo-conservatives, and radical leftists to take power? My answer is no, and I hope you think the same way.
“If not me, then who?” That’s the mantra that stayed with me from Run Gen Z’s 2nd annual candidate conference. It gave me hope to see so many dedicated patriots who are willing to step up when others won’t, who are willing to become public servants in their cities/states.
Run Gen Z should have a role to play in the years to come in American politics. I am excited to see what the future holds for Run Gen Z and the Gen Z conservatives running for office in 2022 & the coming years. The Zoomers will save America!
As you can probably tell, my experience at the Run Gen Z conference was quite excellent. I really appreciate everyone who put on this conference (Joe Mitchell, Mason Morgan, etc.) and everyone that I met at this conference. Y’all are such wonderful people who have bright futures ahead!
Run Gen Z Candidates
To close this post, I wanted to list several Run Gen Z candidates who are up running for office in 2022. I’m pretty sure I listed everyone that I met at the conference who’s for sure running, but I’m not all-knowing haha.
I included the hyperlinks to their campaign websites too, so go check them out!
-Mazzie Boyd for Missouri State House
-Jake Hoffman for Florida State House
– Kaitlyn Ruch for Montana State House
-Jason Holloway for Florida State House
-Andrew Infante for Justice of the Peace in Cameron County, Texas
-Daylen Howard for Michigan State House
-Kyle Hermann for Valle de Oro Community Planning Group (California)
-Michael Baughman for Oklahoma State House
Anyways, thanks again for reading the post! Have a blessed day, and as always America First!
Pictures from the Conference
