Walsh for President

January 15, 2020

MEDIA ADVISORY: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOE WALSH AND ACTIVISTS TO VISIT RNC THURSDAY, DEMAND MEETING

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican candidate for President Joe Walsh, a former Congressman from Illinois, will visit the Republican National Committee’s headquarters Thursday morning at 10 a.m.(ET) along with supporters and activists to protest RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel’s refusal to meet with his campaign to discuss the cancellation of nearly twenty Republican primary contests in 2020.

In a letter to McDaniel late last week, Congressman Walsh appealed to the chairwoman to reverse course on marshalling a mass cancellation of primaries, including early states South Carolina and Nevada, so as not to disenfranchise millions of American voters who will be denied their day at the polls.

“The Republican Party’s actions, especially the behavior of the state parties, is so nakedly anti-democratic it puts a stain on our reputation as defenders of liberty, the free market, and healthy competition,” wrote Walsh last week. “It shows committed Republican voters that the Party isn’t interested in their voices and that Party elites are willing to pull whatever strings necessary to cut them out of having a say in who represents them.”

McDaniel, RNC Chief of Staff Richard Walters, and other senior committee staff have ignored the Walsh campaign’s requests to meet. Congressman Walsh will therefore visit the RNC headquarters in person Thursday morning.

“Refusing to meet with a presidential candidate who is not only a lifelong Republican but also a former member of Congress is a new low, even for this iteration of the GOP.” said Lucy Caldwell, Walsh’s Campaign Manager. “We hope Ronna and others on the RNC staff, many of whom members our team used to work hand-in-hand with, will come to their senses and show common decency not only to Congressman Walsh, but by extension, to the American public.”

Congressman Walsh will be available to the media for interviews on site or by contacting the campaign at the above email or phone (text or call). Walsh’s letter to the RNC can be read here.

RNC Headquarters is located at 310 First Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003.


PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY WALSH FOR PRESIDENT


Ronna Rornney McDaniel
Republican National Committee
310 First Street SE,
Washington, DC 20003
January 10, 2020

Dear Ronna:

I write to you not only as a former Congressman and current presidential candidate, but also as a lifelong Republican, to ask that you make time to meet with me next week in Washington to discuss the pressing issue ofwidespread disen­franchisement ofRepublican voters.

As you know, nearly twenty state parties so far this cycle have either canceled their Presidential primaries completely or made strident efforts to suppress challengers from the ballot. In sorne cases, they have been unsuccessful, but un­fortunately, in most places they've prevailed, effectively stripping millions of Americans from their right to participate in having a say in the next president.

Even in states where party organizations have ostensibly granted ballot access to primary challengers, it is often done while simultaneously making clear they will marshal resources against challengers--one state party chairman boasted to the media that he would redirect the $25,000 filing fee my campaign paid to get on the ballot in that state to work to re-elect Donald Trump. That $25,000 carne from funds that my campaign raised from conservative voters who are deeply concemed about the direction our country is headed--that chair's comment could not be more of a slap in the face to everyday Republicans.

It is deeply conceming as a lifelong Republican to see the complete abdication of our values as a Party at nearly every level.

My campaign staff and I knew what a herculean task we were undertaking when I announced my candidacy last August. We accepted long ago that we would not get a fair shake from the Party --that the Republican party machine would effectively block us from making use of data and technology vendors such as WinRed and Data Trust, which primary challengers typically enjoy. But we never could've anticipated that the powers-that-be would stray so far from the values of faimess and integrity that caused many of us to become Republicans in the first place.

The Republican Party's actions, especially the behavior ofthe state parties, is so nakedly anti-democratic it puts a stain on our reputation as defenders of liberty, the free market, and healthy competition. It gives opponents more ammuni­tion when criticizing our efforts to protect the legitimacy and integrity of elections when there is an orchestrated effort to cancel elections and intimidate challengers and candidates from participating in the democratic process.

Most egregiously, it shows committed Republican voters that the Party isn't interested in their voices and that Party elites are willing to pull whatever strings necessary to cut them out of having a say in who represents them.

I intend to discuss my concems with you in person in the hopes that you will reconsider the collision course this puts the long-term brand of the Republican Party on, and in tum, that I might appeal to you to marshal your considerable influence over state parties to correct course.

A member of my staff will follow up on Monday to see when we might meet in person when I am in Washington later next week.

Sincerely,
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Joe Walsh