Delegates to the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s (RPW) Annual Convention on May 18th in Appleton will be electing a man and a woman to Represent Wisconsin on the National Republican Committee (NRC). The two successful candidates and the current RPW State Chairman will represent Wisconsin on this committee of over 150 members which is responsible for the direction of the National Republican Party and the National Republican Convention every Presidential Election year.

Delegates will need to look no further than the candidates’ political leadership experience when picking whom to support with their vote. Experiences – both the local variety and at the top levels of a State Republican organization – are critical to success in this leadership role. While there is always some growth with any new experience, the NRC should not be a training ground.

Incumbent Committeewoman Maripat Krueger has been on the NRC since 2021 and has served on the RPW Executive Board for 14 years. She first served on the RPW Executive Board when she was Chairwoman of Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District Republican Party. For many of those years (as 3rd District Chair) I was the Chairman of the Republican Party of Monroe County and closely worked with her. I saw her leadership skills, organizational skills, and communications skills in practice on a number of opportunities. Additionally, she has been a delegate or alternate to several Republican National Conventions.

Former RPW State Chairman Brad Courtney has been involved in some phase of grass roots politics since 1990 when he was the finance chairman for an Assembly candidate. He is the longest serving Chairman of the RPW having served at two different times and was instrumental in the victorious Trump, Johnson, & Walker campaigns in 2016. Courtney is instrumental in the inspirational Prayer Breakfast that concludes the Annual RPW Conventions. I can remember the Prayer Breakfasts when there were only two dozen people in the room and now the attendance numbers in the hundreds. I have seen Brad in many roles – from a Convention leader to a grass roots activist. As a former Republican State Chairman, he has already served on the National Republican Committee.

While both are well grounded in a variety of political leadership experiences, I doubt if either has ever said “Because that is the way we have always done it.” They each will accept the challenge to help lead the RNC FORWARD in the Wisconsin tradition.

There are four other good candidates but they seem to lack the leadership experience evidenced by Maripat Krueger and Brad Courtney. Two of them have some valuable experience from the county level. Chrissi Illgen has been Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Dane County for just over a year and is already building an excellent reputation. Terry Dittrich has chaired the Republican Party of Waukesha County since 2019 and he too is building a solid record. The others are Pam Travis who is a staff member for US Senator Ron Johnson. and John Hiller who was a Senior Advisor to Governor Walker and an advance man for President Trump. They are all good people, but their experiences pale compared to Krueger and Courtney.

With twenty seasons of State Conventions, District Caucuses, County Caucuses; six or more parades annually, hundreds of political-oriented events, thousands of campaign signs, numerous committees, six years as County Party Chairman, and even a few awards, I think I am qualified to endorse Maripat Krueger & Brad Courtney for NRC.

Wisconsin needs to send experienced leaders to represent us on the NRC especially if we want to benefit from their efforts. Wisconsin needs to send excellent experienced leaders to represent us on the NRC especially if we want the rest of the nation to benefit from their efforts. If you are a delegate to the RPW Convention, please join me in voting for Maripat Krueger and Brad Courtney for our representatives to the RNC. And, if you see any of the other four, please thank them for their efforts and encourage them to keep building their resume!