Source: Politics<\/p>\n
A new Republican group thinks their party is too old, too moderate and too weak. So they\u2019re launching an effort to replace the outgoing generation of politicians with a younger crop of America First-aligned lawmakers.<\/p>\n
American Ascent launches Monday with an eye toward building a bench of young conservatives that could flip some of the dozens of congressional seats that will be held by aging lawmakers in 2028.<\/p>\n
The 501(c)(4) will be run by Ryan Neuhaus, the former Heritage Foundation chief of staff. Its partners include an array of new-right allies of Vice President JD Vance, including Turning Point Action, which has already endorsed Vance for president in 2028, as well as the conservative think tank Claremont Institute and the watchdog group Oversight Project.<\/p>\n
A PAC that has backed challenges to other GOP incumbents led by Andy Surabian, a longtime aide to both Vance and Donald Trump Jr., will also partner closely with the effort.<\/p>\n
The effort was in the works before last week\u2019s GOP washout. Still, its leaders say those results show Republicans must double down rather than shrink back from an aggressive populist agenda on issues from immigration to the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, the Republican Party has relied on rerunning candidates over and over again,\u201d Neuhaus said. \u201cThe American people told us pretty clearly that they want to see younger, more energetic politicians leading in America, representing them. They want to feel closely connected to them, and American Ascent is going to accomplish that.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked if their recruits would primary incumbent Republicans, Neuhaus demurred. \u201cThat’s up to them,\u201d he said, referring to the candidates. \u201cBut I’ll prepare any young and able and competent American to run for higher office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neuhaus is the former Heritage Foundation chief of staff whoshouldered the blame<\/a> forKevin Roberts\u2019 controversial video<\/a> defending Tucker Carlson last year, after the podcaster hosted a friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.<\/p>\n He pointed to the 42-year-old Vance, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Rep.-elect Jace Yarbrough (R-Texas) as Republicans who are “inspirational to the base.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization will scout young conservative leaders and enroll them in a leadership training program called the \u201cFellowship for American Ascent.\u201d<\/p>\n The group has also compiled data<\/a> suggesting the best opportunities to flip House, Senate and governors\u2019 seats in 2028, based on candidate age, whether they plan to seek reelection, fundraising history and other factors.<\/p>\n While the new organization is not affiliated with Vance \u2014 Neuhaus was adamant it is not a \u201cVance political project\u201d \u2014 the effort parallels the new-right conservatism championed by the vice president.<\/p>\n The American Leadership PAC, led by Surabian, a key political adviser to Vance, will operate in tandem with American Ascent, Neuhaus said. The PAC helped defeat anti-redistricting Republicans<\/a> in Indiana’s statehouse earlier this year. Surabian\u2019s PAC will focus on open seats in safe red districts, a person familiar with the group\u2019s plans said. Surabian did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n The effort is being bankrolled by an initial $12 million by GOP megadonor Thomas Klingenstein, the septuagenarian chair of the Claremont Institute\u2019s board of directors and a major donor<\/a> to Surabian\u2019s American Leadership PAC as well as Trump-aligned Club for Growth and the socially conservative American Principles Project. Klingenstein has long argued that a \u201ccold civil war\u201d<\/a> is underway in the U.S. between conservatives and their opponents.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica needs statesmen who understand we are fighting against an enemy that wants to destroy us,\u201d Klingenstein said in a statement to POLITICO. \u201cOur statesmen must understand in such a situation reaching across the aisle is a sucker\u2019s game. American Ascent shall find such leaders and then develop them.\u201d<\/p>\n This new initiative\u2019s organizers want to see a Republican Party aligned to the conservatism that Vance, a close ally of the Claremont Institute<\/a>, has come to represent. They argue that today\u2019s elected Republicans are largely out of touch with the economic needs of young Americans, and like Vance<\/a>, blame the Iran war for much of the GOP\u2019s current political problems.<\/p>\n \u201c[Tuesday] was a cataclysmic loss for Republicans,\u201d said Noah Wall, whose State Leadership Initiative will help scout future candidates as part of the effort. \u201cIf we want a resurgence, you need strong, bold leaders. \u2026 Quite literally the biggest opportunity in history of the Republican Party of the modern era is what we’re going to be going through over the next two years.\u201d<\/p>\n They also argue that mass deportations are a key motivator for young voters, not a deterrent.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans lost on the economy. They did not lose on the immigration agenda, which voters time and time again say is the number one best issue for Republicans to run on,\u201d said Bradley Devlin, the former Daily Signal editor who will lead American Ascent\u2019s communications, pointing to exit polling that showed<\/a> immigration as a major motivator for Republicans.<\/p>\n Republicans face a serious problem with young voters<\/a> and Latino voters<\/a>, who both shifted hard to the left in last week\u2019s midterms. Voters ages 18-29 backed Democrats 70% to 28% \u2014 a 33-point shift from 2024, per the New York Times\u2019 data<\/a>. A September POLITICO Poll<\/a> found that nearly one-third of non-MAGA Republicans said that Trump\u2019s deportation push has been \u201ctoo aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance\u2019s office did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe watched a complete rebuke of the type of Republicans that were in Congress. Old ideas are for old people,\u201d said Jackson Hines, the nephew and former bodyman of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who joins the organization as vice president.<\/p>\n The key to resolving the GOP\u2019s malaise, supporters say, is recruiting strong, young candidates who are true believers on populist economics and a staunch America First foreign policy.<\/p>\n \u201c[Young voters] liked what was promised on the campaign trail in 2024 \u2014 no new wars, mass deportation, end of corruption in government \u2014 and they still want those things,\u201d said Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, who will partner with Klingenstein\u2019s new group. \u201cAnd so we need to have people committed to doing them in positions of power.\u201d<\/p>\n