Republican Midterm Convention & Three Battleground States | McKoon, Simmons, Grogan

[00:00:00] One year ago today, Tea Party Patriots Action finished our only Citizens Vote bus tour with a rally on Capitol Hill. We were delivering petitions urging the Senate to pass what was then called the Save Act, and we still have work to do on the Save America Act, and we're not giving up on that. It was pouring down rain throughout the day. We did the rally in the rain. When we finished, I went back to my hotel room, took a shower, getting cleaned up from being soaking wet,

[00:00:27] got out of the shower, and learned that my friend Charlie Kirk had been assassinated. Today marks the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination, and as I think back on Charlie's life and on what we can do to best memorialize and to honor him, I think of three things. One, in all of it ties to studying and acting.

[00:00:54] He studied the greats. He learned about our Constitutional Republic. He studied the great books. He took the time and the effort to educate himself on what made this country great so that he could, in turn, educate others and encourage others to take action to make our country great again and to keep it great.

[00:01:15] He studied the Bible, and he learned as much as he could about a biblical Christian life, and then he took and he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior, and he took that and he taught other people about what it means to live with Christ and to have Christ live in you. And he encouraged other people to accept Christ and to live a Christian life.

[00:01:41] And he studied what it took to be a good family person, a good husband, a good father, a good son, and to honor his family. And he lived that every day, and we can see clips of the way that he treated his children, his children, and we watch as Erica Kirk does everything she can to honor the love that she and Charlie Kirk shared. So now, as we're looking forward and we're remembering Charlie Kirk today,

[00:02:10] what I encourage each of us to do is to live like Charlie did to make sure that we are going back and studying what made our country great, understanding our founding principles, understanding economics, understanding the underlying principles and founding principles that made our country great so that we can apply those to the issues of today.

[00:02:35] Make sure that we are living our life with Christ and that we are honoring Christ and we are studying the Bible regularly and we are reading it and that we're letting Christ be part of our lives and that we love our family and that we are living our lives in a way that when we die, our family will know that we loved them. There are a lot of people who claim Charlie would say this or Charlie would say that about whatever the news of the day is.

[00:03:03] And we can guess a lot of that, but we don't exactly know because he's not here to completely weigh in on it. But what we do know, looking at his life as he became an adult from the time he was 18 on, he lived a Christian life. He honored his family. He loved his family and he loved this country and he dedicated himself to this country. And I think that's what we need to do.

[00:03:33] We have just a few more weeks until Election Day and we've got to do everything that we can to make sure that we are getting out the vote and that we are honoring the legacy of Charlie Kirk and that we're not giving up on our country. Even when the Senate doesn't pass the SAVE Act, even when things don't go our way, you never give up on this country. You keep doing what's right for the country. Our country deserves that. And so that's what I urge you to do today.

[00:04:02] As you remember, Charlie Kirk, thank God. Give God thanks for your life. Love your family and rededicate yourselves to understanding our founding principles and acting on them. We have a country to save. We and in holding on to this great republic is something that it takes us all working to do. And we have to do it every single election cycle.

[00:04:26] And speaking of elections tonight, President Trump is speaking at the Republican National Convention. This is a historic convention because it's happening midterm. It's not happening during a presidential year. And today we have three Republican Party chairmen from three states who are going to be talking to us about what's going on on the ground in their state and what they're hoping to see at the convention. We recorded these before the actual convention.

[00:04:54] So if some of it sounds a little bit off, it's just because we recorded it the week before the convention. You're going to hear from Josh McCune, who is the Republican Party chairman in Georgia, from Jason Simmons, who's the Republican Party chairman in North Carolina, and from Bob Grogan, who is the Republican Party chairman in Illinois. I hope you enjoy these interviews. And I hope that you live today and every day in a way that honors the memory of Charlie Kirk. God bless you and God bless America.

[00:05:24] And first, I sound like I'm ending the show, but I'm really not. We're going into the interviews and you're going to hear from Josh McCune first. Welcome to The Jenny Beth Show.

[00:05:49] Josh McCune is the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, and he is joining us today to talk about the upcoming Republican Party convention that is happening in Dallas, Texas, and also about the sentiment on the ground in Georgia. Josh McCune, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for having me, Jenny Beth. Well, before we get into the convention, let's just talk about what are you seeing on the ground in Georgia right now? What's the mood?

[00:06:16] What does it feel like to activists in Georgia? Well, you know, we continue to be a very competitive state. Public and private polling indicates that. So we expect this is going to be a very competitive election. And so we're going to do everything we can to try to turn out our vote. We've targeted low propensity voters in Georgia, about 400,000 of them, that if we feel like if we can turn them out, that we'll win this election.

[00:06:45] You know, I think people think elections are won and lost about persuading voters in the middle. My experience in the last couple of cycles has been it's really about which party does a better job of getting their people out to vote, particularly in a midterm where the turnout is not as high as a presidential election. Yeah, I think it is extremely important that people who voted in 2024 understand why we need them to come back out and vote in 2026.

[00:07:11] And if they voted for president, if they voted for President Trump, then it's extremely important that they don't allow that vote for President Trump from 2024 to be canceled out in 2026 with a Senate or House of Representatives who intends to impeach President Trump and overturn or stall or just roadblock every single thing that he tries to do in the last two years of his administration.

[00:07:39] Exactly. While we don't have competitive House races in Georgia, you know, just think about the control of the U.S. House. If Hakeem Jeffries becomes Speaker, we're going to be subjected to two years of ridiculous investigations. There'll be paralysis as a result of that. All of the great progress that's been made in the last 18 months will be halted. So it's incredibly important if you support President Trump and the policies that you're seeing implemented every single day in Washington, D.C., we have to maintain control of the House and Senate.

[00:08:09] It's vitally important. I completely agree. And some of those positive things that President Trump have done include securing the border. We actually have a real border now where our immigration laws are being enforced. And that hasn't been done in years and years, over a decade and a half, really. I know that he did during his first administration.

[00:08:32] But what we're seeing this time versus the first administration really is a light and day difference when you truly enforce the laws. He is he's given us the biggest tax cut in American history, working to cut waste, fraud and abuse, which reduces the amount of money that the government is spending. And we certainly need that considering the amount of debt that we're in.

[00:08:54] He is trying to make sure that America's place in the world is strong and on solid footing and the places in the world that have been a threat to America over the last many years. He's he's he's not shying away from his responsibility as commander in chief and, in fact, is is taking that role very, very seriously and making sure that America, when he leaves office, is on the right footing.

[00:09:21] He's doing so many things that I think we can be proud of. And sometimes it's easy to get lost in the day to day with especially with the mainstream media. They try to to depress his voters so that they that his voters won't won't come out and vote. But he's doing amazing things. Inflation.

[00:09:42] I think everyone in the country would agree that the the prices arose as a result of the inflation that happened under President Biden. It's going to take a while to get that completely righted. We want we want things to be better economically and they're turning in the right direction.

[00:10:01] It's just going to take longer than any of us anticipated, because what happened with covid lockdowns, with blue state lockdowns and then with Biden's inflation law just really harmed our country. I couldn't agree with you more. You know, Jenny Beth, we do regular polling at the Georgia Republican Party.

[00:10:21] It's shocking in terms of the level of success the president has had on immigration, where that issue has gone as an issue of concern from 2024 to now. And it's totally a result of his success. And remember the whole 2024 election, the Democrats were saying, oh, you've got to change the laws. You've got to change the laws. No, you just needed a president and executive that was willing to do what was necessary to solve the problem. And again, you're totally right on inflation. We've got to keep telling that story.

[00:10:49] This administration is doing so much to unleash American entrepreneurship, to grow jobs, to grow the economy. We're seeing how fast wages are growing. But yes, it's going to take time when you print the amount of money that Joe Biden printed to flush that out of the economy and stabilize inflation. And this president's doing all the right things. He just needs enough time to be able to see those policies work. That is so true, Josh. Now, you mentioned that Georgia does not really have competitive congressional seats.

[00:11:18] There is a competitive Senate race and a competitive gubernatorial election. What are you seeing in both of those elections? So what I would say again, and you'll probably hear me say this over and over again, is just how competitive Georgia remains. You know, President Trump won a great victory in Georgia, but it was a 51-49 election. And that was with us really all rowing in the same direction and having quite a lot of wind at our back. Obviously, we're in a midterm.

[00:11:48] There's the history around midterms and what happens when the party in power in Washington, you know, how that gets treated by voters. What I will say is that Mike Collins, our candidate for U.S. Senate, in early July, Fox News had a poll showing him down in the double digits. We've seen public polling in the last two weeks that have shown Congressman Collins has cut that margin in half. There's tremendous momentum behind him and his campaign.

[00:12:16] He's releasing very significant policies that touch on Georgians. There's a strong contrast to be made because John Isoff sort of masqueraded as a middle-of-the-road Sam Nunn Democrat six years ago. He's established this voting record that is incredibly left-wing. He votes most often with the two Democrat U.S. senators from California. He teamed up with Bernie Sanders to try to turn America's back on Israel in one of their darkest hours in the wake of the October 7th attacks.

[00:12:44] This is someone who's wildly out of step with the average Georgian. And I think the more that that case gets prosecuted, one nation and outside group has started spending educating voters about it. So I feel very good. I feel like Mike is really getting some momentum at the right time. In the gubernatorial race, that's a very competitive race between businessman Rick Jackson, our Republican nominee, and former mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Most of the polling shows that race tied. Both candidates under 50.

[00:13:14] So that continues to be competitive. I will say there are significant undecided amounts in all polling in both of those races. So as this race closes in the next 30 to 60 days, I think it's going to start moving, and I believe it'll start moving in our direction. I certainly hope so. And we know that Senator Ossoff is a big government socialist, and he is voting with other big government socialists in the Senate every single day.

[00:13:42] He does try to appear much more moderate when he's back in Georgia, but the fact is his voting record is right there with the people who are advocating for big government solutions, for big government takeover of larger portions of our life, and a very radical position when it comes to Israel.

[00:14:04] Josh, as we head in now to the convention, we're having a really interesting year because we've got a not a presidential year, a midterm election year Republican National Party convention. What are you expecting to see at that convention? And the delegates and alternates from Georgia who are attending, what are they hoping to see?

[00:14:26] Yeah, so President Trump obviously is a master at harnessing the attention of the American public, and that's what this convention is really all about. You talked about the mainstream media and the drumbeat every day that's negative. This will be two days where the president is able to make, in essence, a closing argument for this election cycle.

[00:14:49] I believe we're going to hear from real, everyday Americans who've been impacted by the policies of this administration, whether it be the Trump accounts for children for investing in their future, whether it be no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and what that has meant for workers in service and hourly industries, whether it has to do with the leadership of cabinet members like Kelly Loeffler at the Small Business Administration,

[00:15:17] increasing the amount of capital available to small businesses to unlock the potential of American entrepreneurs everywhere. We're seeing business formation accelerating at this huge rate. So I think the convention is going to be about articulating those stories in a way that will resonate with the American people. And so I know our delegation is very excited to see our members of Congress, our candidates, and obviously President Trump and Vice President Vance and the administration that will be in attendance at the convention.

[00:15:46] Yeah, it should be a really exciting convention. I understand that President Trump, at least from what I have seen, and we are recording this a little bit before the convention, so what I've seen so far might change. But what I've seen so far is that he'll be there both nights. He's got a keynote on Thursday. And then, of course, the keynote from the vice president will be on Wednesday.

[00:16:07] And that Thursday night, September the 10th, is also the one-year anniversary of when Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I imagine there'll be some sort of tribute to Charlie Kirk.

[00:16:22] And I hope that the people across the country who were moved by his assassination and learn more about what he stands for remember what he stood for and go and work to help elect people who have those same kind of values that Charlie Kirk had, the conservative Christian values rather than the big government socialist values that we're seeing from the left.

[00:16:47] Yeah, having had the privilege of working with Charlie Kirk during the 2024 election cycle and being able to spend some time with him, I know how important political action was to him. And so I can think of no better way to honor his memory and to honor his legacy than not just to get out and vote, but to really get your hands in this effort. Contact your friends and neighbors.

[00:17:15] Help us, if you're in Georgia, to let them know how important this election is, because I believe that our elections are going to be very close. I could see this election coming down to 5,000, 10,000 votes in either direction. And so that grassroots effort, to me, is going to be the difference between who wins and who loses. Yes, I think you're exactly right with that. And I know you're right about what you were saying with Charlie Kirk.

[00:17:41] I worked closely with him during the elections in 2020, 2022, and 2024, most especially 2024. And he really was about making sure that you take the love you have for the country and turn it into action. It's extremely important to do that. Now, one more question. If it comes down to 5,000 or 10,000 votes, what we want to make sure of is that everyone has confidence in the outcome of the election, no matter which way it goes.

[00:18:10] And I know that you, the Georgia Republican Party, the Republican National Convention, and outside groups like Tea Party Patriots, or Tea Party Patriots Action, rather, have been working to recruit people to be poll watchers and poll workers. Would you just hit on why it's important to become one of those during this election cycle? Absolutely. So in 2024, Georgia broke records.

[00:18:38] The Georgia Republican Party and our allied organizations in terms of having poll watchers, having coverage at all targeted precincts statewide is enormously important. And here's why. If you're a poll worker, that means you have the opportunity to make sure that all the laws we have worked so hard to get passed in the state of Georgia are effectively enforced. You're making sure that voter is presenting a photo ID. You're making sure their vote is being verified.

[00:19:06] You're making sure that as they navigate the voting process that they are able to complete it successfully and cast their vote. If you're a poll watcher, it's equally important because you're in the precinct looking for anything that doesn't seem right, anything where we're not following Georgia law. And to be clear, when we're talking about election integrity, we're talking about one thing, a level playing field that the laws of our state are being enforced so that we have a fair election. Because it's exactly what you said, Jenny Beth.

[00:19:35] When we get to the end of this process, I don't care if you're a Republican, a Democrat or independent. We want to have confidence that the certified winner of the election is, in fact, the winner. And the more people engage in this process, the more eyes there on this process. And frankly, from a Republican Party standpoint, the more we litigate when we see things that are not fair happening and get that relief on the front end, it's so much easier after it's over, regardless of the outcome.

[00:20:05] I desperately want us to win. But whatever happens, I want to feel like the next day we had a fair election. That's what this is about. That is exactly right. And if you're watching, whether you're a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, a Constitution Party, whatever it may be, we urge you to go become a poll watcher. We need more people engaged as poll watchers. And then sign up if, I'm sorry, a poll worker. So you're working the elections.

[00:20:33] And that means calling your, in Georgia specifically, calling your local county election board and telling them you want to work the polls and get the training, the official training through the county to be able to do that. If you cannot work the polls, we encourage you to be a poll watcher. Usually to be a poll watcher, you have to do that through your local political party. So if you're a Republican, call your local county Republican Party. If you're a Democrat, call the local Democratic Party.

[00:21:01] Either way, both sides need to be in there so that at the end of the day we can trust the outcome of the election. Absolutely. It's incredibly important. Okay, Josh, one last thing before I let you go. People who are listening, if they want to get involved with you and what the Republican Party of Georgia is doing, what is the best way to do that and how can they follow you online? So our website is gagop.org. Easy to find us there. Any way you want to connect, you can find on our website.

[00:21:30] You can also find us on social media, Georgia Republican Party on Facebook, at GA Republicans on X. I'm on X at Josh McCoon, and you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook at Josh McCoon as well. Very good. Josh, thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you have a great time at the convention. Thank you so much, Jenny Beth.

[00:22:22] Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for having me. So you're the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. And how long have you had this position? It's only been a few months, right? Correct. Just three months in. Wow. Very good. And what did you do before? How did you wind up becoming the chairman of the Republican Party? Well, I jokingly say that I'm proof if you show up to enough meetings, they put you in charge.

[00:22:45] I've been doing Republican grassroots things for 30 years, from YRs to local organizations to policy stuff. I served as a county auditor for 12 years. I'm a CPA, a certified fraud examiner. So in Illinois, that's quite the – you can keep yourself quite busy in government there.

[00:23:09] And I just always, on the Republican side, have just worked on growing the party as opposed to trying to purge our way to 51%. And so I presented myself. Actually, people asked me to run. It wasn't my idea in the first place. I didn't need that carved on my sarcophagus. But they asked me to do it. I threw out my resume and my skills were, I guess, what they asked for. Well, I'm glad that you stepped up.

[00:23:35] We need strong leaders and we need people also who understand the grassroots and understand what the grassroots want from a chairman. But what is the mood like in Illinois this year? I will tell you, so we're – it's an interesting confluence, right? I mean, it's always when you have the sixth year of the White House. That's, you know, traditionally whether it was Reagan, you know, Eisenhower, Obama, Clinton, it didn't matter.

[00:24:05] It's always something that's something you have to work towards or against. But in Illinois, we have an advantage in that, you know, J.B. Pritzker, the governor who, you know, as they like to say, you know, he came from the trust fund side of life. The joke is that he was born on third base and expects everybody to think he hit a triple. People are – there's a lot of fatigue for J.B. Pritzker.

[00:24:32] While he's shaking your hand, picking your pocket with the other, he's looking over your shoulder at New Hampshire. And folks, you know, have sniffed that out. They realize that, you know, he really isn't here for us anymore. He's got a bunch of failed policies. His COVID emergency lasted like five years or some ridiculousness. It's like the longest in the nation. And so there's a lot of J.B. fatigue that we're, you know, able to capitalize upon.

[00:24:58] And, you know, truly, you know, you look at things like the litmus test of, you know, the Bears. And, you know, they've been here for, you know, 90-plus years. And they're choosing to go to Indiana. And that's, you know, not because of Donald Trump. That's because of, you know, Illinois politics are just bad. Yeah, I can't even imagine how devastating that must be for the community to see that the Bears are leaving Illinois.

[00:25:25] And not just going to another city, but truly leaving the state altogether. Yeah, they're basically tax refugees. They, you know, the property taxes are probably the number one issue on everybody's mind here. You know, we have, I think, the second or first highest in the nation. And if they were to go build that stadium that they wanted to do, you know, their annual tax bill was going to be something like $300 million a year. I mean, which is, you know, 10 times more than it would have been any other place in any other stadium.

[00:25:56] And, you know, that they wouldn't, you know, instead of, the unfortunate thing is that Illinois has gotten to a place where in order to keep marquee businesses, they basically have to give them some special deal. Well, okay, that's fine, you know, for the Bears or for some corporate headquarters or some Fortune 500 company. The problem is, is every mom and pop business doesn't get those deals. So they have to suffer through these things, even if they do end up cutting a special deal for the big ones. Wow. I'm just $300 million a year. Yeah.

[00:26:26] And you have income tax, too. It's not like you, it's not like Florida where you've got, and even there, DeSantis is trying to get rid of the property tax. But you don't have income tax. In Illinois, you've got that much property tax, and you've got income tax. Yes. And we're one of, I think, only two states, I think, in the country that on top of a per gallon charge of taxes on gasoline, we also have a sales tax on top of that. So we actually tax the tax.

[00:26:58] That is a very special state you've got going for you. The highest property taxes, the longest COVID lockdown, and then you tax the tax when it comes to gasoline. Yeah. It has to be difficult, and I think it has to be difficult also because there's so many people who have left Illinois in the last few years. And you've got the Bears leaving Illinois even.

[00:27:24] How do you keep people motivated and encourage them to keep hanging on? Yeah. I mean, it's interesting. So Illinois was kind of ground zero for the Tea Party movement back in the day, right? It was like the first two years of Obama, and the guy was on the floor of the Board of Trade. And so Illinois was really ground zero. And I saw a stat that I think that when it kicked off, there were like 27 groups of original Tea Party things.

[00:27:53] And of the original leaders, within five years, like 20 of them had moved out of state because they came in with that passion. They were trying to fight for change. And then they realized it was just a brick wall in front of them. And behind the brick wall was a moat, and behind that were armed guards. And so I think that those of us that are left, I think, are just overwhelmingly optimistic. I will say it's disheartening when you walk door to door in a precinct. You see three doors down, you'll see a for sale sign.

[00:28:22] And you look at your walk sheet, and it's probably Republican because they're kind of the canaries in the mine. You know, the state is structured for the takers, not the makers. If we had the same electorate we had 20 years ago, I mean, in my lifetime, you know, we had a Republican governor that won 101 counties out of 102. So, I mean, so we have seen it. We can do that. And actually, the one county he lost, he lost by three votes. So, I mean, so we have, I think we have the ability to come back.

[00:28:53] Unfortunately, the Democrats are really good at retaining power. They're, you know, you can call it cheating. You can call it, you know, power plays. You know, they talk about redistricting all over the country. Our gerrymandering is bar none. You go ahead and I challenge anybody to look at it. It doesn't, it would make a salamander blush. It just is not right. And it's like that game of basketball where, you know, you're just going to do a pickup game of basketball. And this guy that maybe played a little bit in high school and he says, oh, let's play make it, take it.

[00:29:22] So, every time he makes a basket, he gets the ball back. Well, that's what redistricting has done to us here in Illinois. They have the power, so they use the rules to retain the power and keep the ball. But fortunately, I think we have the issues on our side. We have passion on our side. The Democrats are, you know, every other time we turn around, there's one indicted. I think in the last 60 years, I think 50 Chicago aldermen have been indicted. They have, you know, there's seven of the Chicago City Council are on the DSA, you know, caucus.

[00:29:52] So, at some point, you know, we have, Chicago's got so many blessings and Illinois's got so many blessings. You know, we're one of the largest Polish communities in the world. Like behind Warsaw, I think we're the largest Polish city in Chicago. And they don't like communism. And a lot of the immigrant communities are, you know, they ran away from communism. So, we have that going for us, as well as we have some great candidates. Okay. So, you raise a couple of points I want to hit on.

[00:30:18] First, the largest Polish community, I think that's very important. I think that the people who lived under socialism and lived under communism are the ones who are going to be able to help us remind Americans why what the big government, democratic socialists want, doesn't work. The utopia that they envision and that they dream of, it isn't, the reality is a nightmare.

[00:30:48] Yeah. I mean, I think the Democrats are, they've taken it to a new level where they confuse thinking with wishful thinking. You know, a lot of people ask me, because the suburbs used to be rock solid Republican, and they've drifted away from us. We've really lost our grip on the suburbs, and we're fighting to take it back. And people say, you know, what happened? And I, you know, I try and explain that you can't have $300 billion a year in university brainwashing and not have an effect over time.

[00:31:17] And, you know, I said communism was defeated. You know, George Bush the older, you know, in the early 90s. But it was kept alive in a Petri dish on our college campuses, unfortunately. And they've grown it like a freaking COVID strain out of China and to just infect our youth. But the nice thing is I think that our youth, what's interesting, so I'm really proud of our delegation that's going to go to the midterm convention. We have a lot of Turning Point USA folks that are there.

[00:31:46] We have a lot of young folks. And so we really, I'm heartened to see, I think it's if you've been beat on your entire life and told you're a racist, a sexist, and, you know, there's everything wrong with you, that at some point they're calling BS. My daughter during COVID, her graduation, we did a drive-through graduation. Like literally, her grandmother was in the car driving next to her on the sidewalk as she walked down. And so we owe an apology to that generation, and I think that they're helping us fight to take it back.

[00:32:16] Yeah, I think that that's right. My kids, thankfully, we had graduation. They graduated in 2021. But my county made sure even in 2020 that the kids had a graduation ceremony. Thankfully, I lived in a liberty-loving area that was seen. You just mentioned Turning Point USA. You have a lot of really bad things going in Illinois right now that we've talked about.

[00:32:46] But Charlie Kirk was from Illinois. And his legacy lives on. And this week, we're marking the one-year anniversary of his assassination. But his legacy is going to live on much, much longer. And the kids, like you were just mentioning, they'll learn from him. They've learned from him, the ones who were able to interact with him while he was still alive.

[00:33:12] The ones who didn't will still be able to learn from so much of what we have recorded of him. And they're going to help keep that flame of liberty going. And the other thing with Charlie, and I can't claim to have known him very well, met him in passing. I actually saw him when he was still in high school. He came and gave a speech at a luncheon that I was at. But, I mean, he waged optimism, right?

[00:33:39] And I think that that's, you know, we need that too. And I think conservatives, you know, we get ourselves caught up in certain, like, nuances of issues. You know, we've got to audit the Fed or, you know, some things that don't really affect people's day-to-day lives. And I think that we can, you know, we can look at our philosophy as we're against the other guy. Or we can look at our philosophy that we are for freedom, family, fiscal sanity.

[00:34:04] And I think Charlie really embodied that glass half full side of the party. You know, we often talk about the divides of the party. And I think that that's kind of, that's probably the more natural divide is, you know, those that are for and then those that are just simply against. And both of them, we arrive at the same conclusion. We're still fighting against the Democrats. And we're still, you know, trying to pass the same bills.

[00:34:26] But I think that there is a yearning out there, whether it's the suburban voters, young folks, you know, disaffected folks in the inner city, that they need to actually hear a positive message, a hopeful message, but also, as opposed to the Democrats, a rational message. Yes. I think that's really important because when you go and look at the Democrat Socialists of America website, they actually have a positive and hopeful message, but it's not rational. No.

[00:34:55] What they want isn't, it's not rational, but when you look at the way they frame it and put words around what they're saying, I understand how they could be recruiting people from it because they're painting a beautiful picture of utopia that it just won't happen in reality. Right.

[00:35:17] One of the things that, positively speaking, about having so many Democratic Socialists of America people on the city council in Chicago, is that you're going to be able to help expose what they are doing and the harm that they can cause so that other people can learn from it and prevent that from happening and spreading further around the country.

[00:35:42] And it's not fun for Chicago or for Illinois, but it can also be a place where we can point to and watch what's happening in your state and highlight this is where these policies lead and why we don't want to go down that path. At some point, governance has to matter. I always think that we've hit a new low.

[00:36:05] So, you know, the average voter that has, you know, one spouse, two car payments and three kids is just going to wake up and realize that they're getting sold a bill of goods. But, you know, we can't, you know, overestimate, you know, that they have the time to pay attention to all the policies and stuff that we're putting forward. But at some point, you know, whether it is, you know, the 20-year-old that can't afford to buy a house or, you know, is drowning in student debt

[00:36:35] that was caused by, you know, 14 different deans of DEI at the college and, you know, somehow they don't pay the professors anymore, right? I mean, at some point, I think that we can see beyond the Stockholm syndrome that here in Illinois that we suffer from and actually see what's going on in the outside world and realize that, like, this is the great thing about federalism, right? We get to, you know, every little piece of our democracy, of our republic can fail.

[00:37:03] And then we get to watch those examples and learn from them. So we're recording this before the convention actually happens. It, of course, is being aired as the week of the convention. What is it that you hope President Trump will say in his speech? Wow. You know what? He stopped taking my advice as to what to say and to tweet a long time ago.

[00:37:27] No, he's – I mean, obviously, he has an ability to connect with, you know, the average person that I think is, you know, is generational. What I'm hoping that he can articulate, what we need to hear here in Illinois is that, you know, that the middle class is respected,

[00:37:51] that we're actually – that capitalism is actually what brings people out of poverty. I mean, those places that don't have capitalism, you know, you wouldn't want to live there, right? That, you know, freedom is actually how we achieve things. And that, you know, the news of the day, you know, I think we get caught up in that. And, you know, you have to see beyond the media.

[00:38:14] And I think that that's the beauty of this midterm convention is that we can break through the, you know, what's in front of us on the screen and it is so heavily censored.

[00:38:36] And so hopefully, you know, we can get through there with the message of, you know, that we're better off than we were, you know, under Joe Biden and that we will be worse off if the Democrats are giving keys to the car again. They'll be going on a joyride with your money and your freedoms. I think that is a good message and I hope we see something along those lines. And capitalism really is very important.

[00:39:02] And freedom is incredibly important as well. And we have to just keep reminding people of that. And I think you have a very positive, optimistic attitude. Yeah, I'm a weird CPA. Well, Bob Grogan, I really appreciate your time today. Thank you for volunteering, for being here, being part of the Republican Party, being a chairman and for doing everything you've done over the years to step up and be a volunteer and an activist. Thank you very much.

[00:39:32] You are the grassroots of America. You love this country. When you love something, really love it. The news doesn't just inform you, it fires you up and you find yourself asking, how can I make a difference? That is exactly what this show is built to answer. Never, ever, ever, ever give up. We owe it to every American who has ever voted to make America great again. We owe it to our future selves.

[00:39:58] We owe it to this republic to stand tall, to stay active, and to be smart about how we spend our energy so that we can win. Here on the Jenny Best Show, we're going to help you do exactly that. Every show, we will break down the news, connect it to first principles, and give you specific, effective ways to take action. Not just outreach, action. And I am so glad you're here on this journey with us to do it. So let's get to it. Welcome to the The Jenny Beth Show.

[00:40:29] Jason Simmons, thank you so much for joining me today. It's great to be with you. Thank you for having me. So you are the Republican Party chairman in North Carolina. You were the executive director before you became the chairman. And just tell everyone a little bit about your background, and then let's talk about what's going on on the ground in North Carolina. No, I appreciate it. I have grown up in the political world and had the opportunity when Michael Watley moved on to the RNC

[00:40:57] and was asked to serve there, was asked to go ahead and serve in the capacity of chair here in North Carolina by the president and his team. And it's been a great opportunity and appreciated, and especially as we saw in 24 with the third time that President Trump was elected here in North Carolina, being able to carry that success as we go into this 26th midterm election.

[00:41:21] And when you became the chairman, how was that a little bit different than the other positions that you had? Were there any surprises to you about being chairman that you weren't really quite prepared for? It's a little bit different role in that you're more forward-facing and, you know, more visible as opposed to, you know, when you're the executive director or staff where you're serving more on the sides and making sure that your principals are being taken care of.

[00:41:50] But really a very easy and natural transition. Very good. And then North Carolina, it always is one of those states that we're watching closely. We've got a Republican senator who is not running again, and you've got a former Democrat governor who is running for the Senate. How are things looking in North Carolina, and what's the attitude of people on the ground? Sure. North Carolina continues to be a very hyper-competitive state where you look at any poll.

[00:42:18] I really dismiss them at any given time because what happens at the end of the day, polls tighten up. And really what you see as we get in past Labor Day and into now this last few weeks in the sprint, the election becomes hyper-competitive. North Carolina is one of the first states that will have ballots dropped starting on September 4th, where absentee ballots will start to drop.

[00:42:45] And so we're already in the midst of the election, and then we'll have our early voting period coming up in mid-October. So in North Carolina, it's a state where no political party can take really their foot off the gas nor take it for granted. You have to earn every vote here in North Carolina and take your message to the voters, being able to describe why North Carolina is such a great place to work, to live, to educate, and to retire.

[00:43:11] And that's really because of Republican policies that have been in effect for the last 15, 16 years, when our Republican majorities were able to flip our state legislature. And you've seen tremendous success in North Carolina, where it continues to be ranked one of the highest places to do business. Because in North Carolina, we continue to believe in reducing taxes, reducing regulations, and making that opportunity for businesses to thrive,

[00:43:39] and then making sure public safety and education continues to be a priority. And so those continue to be the top messages that we take to the voters of North Carolina, that you're seeing Michael Watley take to the voters of North Carolina, and really casting a real clear distinction between the Democrats, where at the beginning of the year we were talking about how they were really that party of uncommon nonsense. Today, they're a party that's been captured by the Democrat Socialists.

[00:44:07] And so it's a party that's now espousing communist and socialist ideology, while the Republican Party continues to talk about how we're going to strengthen our country, strengthen our communities, and especially put forward common sense policies. Yes. The Democrat Party, they've been quite a bit crazy. They've stood for some really extreme positions. At least we thought they were very extreme over the last few years.

[00:44:35] And then this year, we've seen that what we thought was extreme is nothing compared to wanting to abolish the United States Senate, abolish ICE, abolish police, abolish prison systems, basically a jailbreak for anyone who's committed a crime and mass amnesty for anyone who has entered the country illegally, pack the Supreme Court and make the presidency subservient to the expanded House of Representatives.

[00:45:00] They want to disband the United States Constitution. And it's something that is absolutely stemming from Marxism. And we have to make sure we're explaining that to people, what the consequences, what we mean by that and what the consequences of it will be. There is no such thing as a free lunch. A hundred percent. And you saw, especially with the Democrat Party last year, where they put forward in Abigail Spanberger, a candidate for governor in Virginia.

[00:45:29] She ran as the centrist moderate. And as soon as she took into office, she went far left. Uh, this year, the Democrats aren't even pretending. Uh, they are showing you exactly who they are and they're telling you exactly who they are. The American dream was built off of hard work and opportunity and really the opportunity for personal freedoms, not government control, not more of the government in our lives.

[00:45:55] Uh, the Republican Party and our policies as conservatives continue to believe individuals should be given that right to make the decisions for themselves and their families and for their communities, not to have government intervention and control. And especially in our greatest times of need, government has continued to fail us. And especially we saw that with Roy Cooper and his response to Hurricane Helene, where he was a no-show. Communities were left on their own.

[00:46:22] And what you saw was the best of humanity where people and neighbors were taking care of one another. You saw religious and civic organizations coming in. And where was government? Where was Biden and FEMA? Nowhere to be found. And often what we've found, and especially, you know, afterwards, you heard FEMA, they ignored anybody that had a Trump sign in their yard. And that's the same response that you're going to continue to see from somebody like Roy Cooper, who will continue to ignore those people that stand in the greatest need.

[00:46:52] And he'll go ahead and just play politics instead. Yeah, you were exactly right about that. And one of the things that I think I always think of as a contrast between what President Trump is like as a politician and an elected official versus the normal politicians and elected officials that we have. You look at what happened with Hurricane Helene. And FEMA went and pushed some papers around and didn't really provide any real relief.

[00:47:21] It was bureaucrats going in and doing the bureaucratic thing that bureaucrats do, but not actually providing the relief that people needed on the ground when their entire communities have been wiped out by Mother Nature. President Trump went and visited it after he was president. And I think within just a few days, he sent in bulldozers to go help clear the roads and clear the debris and clear the trees out.

[00:47:49] He understands what it takes to build something. He understands looking at a pile of debris on the ground, what needs to happen to it. And he's wise enough to be able to tell his team to go get it done. And I think that that's really a difference between someone like President Trump, who, of course, grew up in his adulthood, he spent in construction versus people who just sit around behind a desk pushing papers all day long. Oh, 100 percent. What you saw and you mentioned,

[00:48:19] President Trump's first trip after taking office in 2026. That's right. To Western North Carolina. He stopped. He met with those that were impacted. He met with the leaders and listened. Heard what was needed to make sure that communities could be reimbursed for the expenses that were incurred and making sure that people could be able to rebuild their lives in their communities. There's still more work to do. There's always going to be more work to do. But what you've seen from the president and his team has been tremendous,

[00:48:47] where they're making sure that the resources are being made available and get people back to their everyday lives. And so it's been critical that the response that President Trump and his team have been putting forward into Hurricane Helene. And it's a real contrast to what you saw, especially by the failures of Roy Cooper. Yeah, it really is. And I think it is such a stark contrast. There are a few different examples like that about President Trump.

[00:49:14] He just he's just he's one of a kind. He's just one of a kind. We're very blessed to live in this time where we get to to watch such a historic figure in in real time. Absolutely. Getting back to what people in North Carolina are talking about in Needing, there are a lot of people around the country who are frustrated, and I think rightly frustrated because we haven't turned the economy around as quickly as we want it to be turned around.

[00:49:44] It's turning for sure. And yet the relief that they were hoping to have at this point, two years into President Trump's presidency, in two years since they voted the last time, isn't quite where it in need, where they wanted to be.

[00:50:05] And I'm wondering, how are you handling addressing that with people and acknowledging that you understand things aren't moving as quickly as quickly as we want, but we're coming out of four years of Biden on top of COVID lockdowns? No, very much so. You can't ignore the realities of the political environment in which we find ourselves. But what you've got to continue to highlight is how Republican policies have made everyday Americans' lives much better.

[00:50:32] Again, where you see what Biden and he pursued policies that were so destructive to our economy, and especially to the energy sector. What you see with President Trump was a decision that he and his team made to make America and our world safer by going and dealing with the threats that are of Iran, the largest singular state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

[00:50:54] And so Americans have to continue to understand, yes, we're in a very difficult time for many of us when we're looking at our pocketbooks. But this is a short-term impact that we're seeing with Iran.

[00:51:07] As we get through Iran and especially being able to stabilize that region, and what you've also seen with what President Trump has done with Venezuela and making sure that we can continue to be able to have additional resources for energy outside of worrying about the geopolitical environment in the Middle East. You're going to continue to see the economy.

[00:52:24] But for more than 40 years. Short-term, short-term things are happening right now for a very long-term, for big long-term gains where we have less terrorism across the entire world, a more stable Middle East. And our children and grandchildren don't grow up the way that we did because of the things that Iran has done to Americans around the entire world. Absolutely.

[00:52:52] Again, you see what's happened in the Middle East, and especially with Iran over these last 48 years, and the state sponsor of terrorism, whether it's Hezbollah or Hamas or any of the other groups that have been able to flourish.

[00:53:04] And so, of course, President Trump has been able to really stop those state sponsor of terrorism and making sure that those entities within the Middle East no longer become problematic and making sure that especially our main partner in the Middle East with Israel can make sure to protect themselves, make sure that they can not have another terrorism event that they did with October 7th that was so absolutely horrific.

[00:53:31] And so making sure, again, the American people continue to be the first priority for President Trump. And that's what's always amazed me in my interactions with President Trump is intellectual curiosity of people. What is it that you know? What is it that you're experiencing? What is it that you're thinking? And being able to continue to receive those inputs from across a wide spectrum of people and being able to then inform his decision-making with his team.

[00:53:59] Am I correct in understanding you've been doing a lot of work for voter registration in North Carolina? A hundred percent. Really, since the last 10 years, you see the voter registration trends have been fantastic for Republicans. I go back to when President Trump was first elected in 2016. Democrats enjoyed a 400, or excuse me, a 645,000 voter registration advantage over Republicans.

[00:54:26] President Trump, Republican policies have continued to make North Carolinians wake up. And you've seen the Democrat Party here really hemorrhage voters. They've lost over 300,000. Republicans have gained over 300,000. And today, 10 years after President Trump was first elected, Republicans enjoy an over 10,000 voter registration advantage over Democrats.

[00:54:50] So it's a very great advantage, a structural advantage that we have going into this election, making sure, again, we've got to turn out our people, and we turn out our people at a higher rate than Democrats. But you still have a large block of independent voters, unaffiliated voters here in North Carolina that we've got to go take our message to and share. Again, why did you move to North Carolina? You moved to North Carolina to leave those blue states, leave those policies in New York, New Jersey, California.

[00:55:19] Come to North Carolina and enjoy what really has been a tremendous benefit to everybody that lives here, Republican policies, reducing taxes, and putting those investments back into our communities. That is wonderful. Jason, I appreciate you spending time with me today, and I appreciate all the work that you were doing in North Carolina. And I wish you the very best over the next 50-something days. I appreciate being with you. You take care. If you enjoyed today's conversation, go ahead and hit like and subscribe.

[00:55:48] It really helps us reach more people who care about liberty and the Constitution. You can find this and other episodes at JennyBethShow.com, as well as Facebook, YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, X, and your favorite podcast platform. The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of Tea Party Patriots Action. For more information, visit TeaPartyPatriots.org.