Over 300 attendees, including most major candidates for office in New Hampshire, attended the first major post-COVID GOP fundraising event this month, which happened to coincide with D-Day’s 75th-anniversary.
Jess and Naomi Edwards, of Auburn, host an annual “tailgate” fundraising event for the Get Involved PAC in their backyard. All Republican candidates and activists are welcomed with the camaraderie feel of a Husker pre-game tailgate. Jess, who serves as State Representative for Auburn, is an avid fan of the Nebraska college football team and a champion for Republican camaraderie.
The Get Involved PAC works to recruit liberty-loving candidates for New Hampshire State Representative and helps to get them elected. This year, the haul was in the thousands of dollars. The PAC also reports that they have achieved a new record for fundraising, and that all donations are spent entirely on getting their endorsed candidates elected.
Through raffles, a silent auction, and the generosity of many fired-up attendees and donors, the Get Involved PAC hopes to support 100 candidates for New Hampshire House this cycle.
According to the PAC, most of those candidates were in attendance, with many traveling from as far as Coos County in Northern New Hampshire! The candidates, many of whom are new, were able to network with current GOP leaders, get professional headshots taken, and meet with other candidates from across the state.
The current leaders in attendance were NHGOP Chair Steve Stepanek and Vice-Chair Pamela Tucker, Chris Ager, the newly elected Republican National Committeeman for New Hampshire. Dick Hinch, Republican House Leader, Former Speaker Bill O’Brien, and dozens of GOP legislators from the House and Senate also made appearances.
Don Bolduc, Corky Messner, and Andy Martin were there as GOP Senate candidates. Lynne Blankenbeker, Steve Negron, and Eli Clemmer made appearances as CD-2 candidates, as did Matt Mayberry and Matt Mowers from CD-1. All spoke to the crowd with their vision and plans if elected and highlighted how the current officeholders are betraying the citizens of New Hampshire.
Active COVID precautions were followed by guests to prevent the spread of the virus. We know that the virus is much harder to spread outdoors, so as the most significant precaution, the tailgate was an outdoor event rain or shine. Luckily, the weather cooperated and gave the attendees an abundance of sunshine and hot spring weather. Few wore masks, but social distancing was practiced by many. Overall, the attendees were relaxed and more than happy to gather in person again. Thanks to the personal responsibility taken, there have been zero reported infections of COVID in the weeks since the event!
