A Year in Review for the College Republicans of UW-Madison
Chapter successes this semester and Party accomplishments of 2018.
The College Republicans of UW-Madison are happy to report many successes from the past year and are blessed to have played a role in the continuation of the greatest test of freedom know to mankind, The United States of America, for another year.
I hope to provide a brief look into the successes of our Fall 2018 semester as a College Republicans Chapter as well as our accomplishments as a Republican Party.
GOP Badgers’ successes - Fall 2018 Semester
One: We grew our Chapter.
It is no secret that the University of Wisconsin’s stereotypical breakdown of student political affiliation on campus remains, well, liberal; but that did not keep our Chapter from growing. This semester, we tallied 147 dues paying members on our roster and 11 Executive Board positions.
Two: We hosted 13 events in just 12 weeks.
Every election-cycle semester is busy, but we went all out this time. We brought major candidates directly to our members including Scott Walker and Leah Vukmir. Our event with Governor Walker marked over 200 in attendance. We also hosted a new member bonfire, get out the vote events, and two events ringing bells for the Salvation Army, to name a few others.
Three: We co-hosted four bipartisan events.
Our organization continues to lead by example each semester by pursuing bipartisan events on campus. This semester, we co-hosted our annual 9/11 event, a debate watch party, a debate with the College Democrats of UW-Madison, and a Veterans Day event.
Four: We worked hand-and-hand with the B1G Voting Challenge.
Our board and organization worked to promote voter turnout on campus by partnering with the University and the B1G Voting Challenge to promote voter registration. Every vote counts, and we partnered with this program to ensure every student on campus knew exactly that.
Republican Accomplishments of 2018
One: We confirmed Justice Kavanaugh.
As one of the most important accomplishments of 2018, Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court as an Associate Justice on October 6th, 2018. Kavanagh was touted by many with his superb record, experience, and qualifications. The addition of Justice Kavanaugh to the high court marks a step forward for America and the court. It also reminded voters that those across the aisle will do anything to derail progress.
Two: We continued the economic boom.
After the post Trump election economic boom, many waited for growth to slow; it didn’t happen. In fact, throughout 2018, most economists never thought the economy could grow as fast as it has. In 2018, Wisconsin saw unemployment at or below 3 percent for nine straight months—a state record. The U.S. GDP growth outpaced 4.2 percent in quarter two of 2018, marking the fastest rise in nearly four year. My point? Our policies work, and they work well.
Three: We led the charge to begin fighting the opioid epidemic.
The national opioid epidemic continues to take the lives of many Americans, and President Trump’s Administration and Republican lawmakers have led the charge to begin fighting the epidemic this year. In their first step, the Republican led House and Senate passed a comprehensive relief package which was later signed by President Trump. Our own Senator Johnson praised the package noting its prospect to “combat the opioid epidemic on multiple fronts.”
Four: We increased the majority control in the U.S. Senate and held the WI Legislature.
Do you remember hearing about the blue wave set to arrive in the U.S. on November 6th? It never came. In a historic event, the party of the President added seats in the U.S. Senate. There’s only been five times in the last 105 years that an incumbent President has won seats in the Senate in the off year election. Not only did the blue wave fail to hit the U.S. nationally, it also subsided in Wisconsin. Republicans maintained control in both state legislative chambers, sending a message to Wisconsin that they won’t stop fighting to keep Wisconsin moving forward.
I am happy with our accomplishments both as a Chapter and as a Party in 2018 and am excited to continue our progress into 2019. Let’s get to work.
A version of this article was also published in The Badger Herald.