National Teen Age Republicans (TARs) is one of the youth wings of the United States Republican Party.

National Teen Age Republicans
National ChairmanBarby Wells
Founded1960; 64 years ago (1960)
In South Dakota
IdeologyConservatism
Mother partyRepublican Party
Websiteteenagerepublicans.org

TARs has had a presence in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with membership in the tens of thousands.[1] TARs is the first of the four official youth wings of the Republican National Committee, along with the High School Republican National Federation, Young Republican National Federation and College Republicans.[2]

History

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The oldest recorded TAR group was formed in 1960 in South Dakota.[3]

The first national conference was held in Washington D.C. at Trinity College on June 16–21, 1969,[4] and ever since National TARs has hosted an annual Teen Age Republican Leader Conference (TLC).[5] Following his 1980 election victory, Ronald Reagan held a reception for delegates to the TLC, where he stated that TARs "had a significant impact in the outcome of the last election...you walked the precincts, you licked stamps, stuffed envelopes, got senior citizens to the polls, and babysat while mothers voted...what you did [made] the difference between winning and losing."[6]

Ex-TARs members include Lawrence Lessig,[7] Paris Dennard,[8] Frank Luntz,[9] and Rob Bishop.[10]

Founding of High School Republicans

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In April 2022, certain state chapters left the National Teenage Republicans and created a new organization, The High School Republican National Federation, a student-led alternative.

References

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  1. ^ "About". National Teen Age Republicans. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  2. ^ Sabato, Larry; Ernst, Howard R. (2014-05-14). Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections. Infobase Publishing. p. 497. ISBN 978-1-4381-0994-7.
  3. ^ "History". South Dakota Teen Age Republicans.
  4. ^ Congress, United States (1969). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 29023.
  5. ^ "TLC". National Teen Age Republicans. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  6. ^ Reagan, Ronald (1982). "Remarks at a White House Reception for Delegates to the National Leadership Conference of Teen Age Republicans, June 23, 1981". Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Federal Register Division, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. pp. 552–553.
  7. ^ Osnos, Evan (2014-10-06). "Embrace the Irony". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  8. ^ Dennard, Paris (2017-08-23). "OPINION | As a black Republican proud of Trump, I know bigotry is bipartisan". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  9. ^ Graetz, Michael J.; Shapiro, Ian (2011-01-11). Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Fight over Taxing Inherited Wealth. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-3918-6.
  10. ^ Robinson, Rebecca (2018-10-30). Voices from Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on Sacred Land. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-3805-8.
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