Randolph County Young Republicans

The Election May Be Over, But We’re Just Getting Started

Eric Robert — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:25:09 +0000

The 2010 election brought some fantastic victories (Dave Holder, Mike Hoelscher, Dan Rutherford) and tragic defeats (Bill Brady) to Randolph County residents. The Randolph County Young Republicans played an exciting role providing grass roots support to conservative candidates throughout the primary and general election. 2010 may have been fun, but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

Join RCYR as we map out how to support conservative principles in 2011. We will discuss trivia nights, shooting contests, parades, and more! RSVP on Facebook or just show up!

National Television, Radio Personality to Host Voter Forum in Red Bud

Eric Robert — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:25:18 +0000

With November’s elections quickly approaching, voters will have one more chance to ask tough questions directly to candidates at the final “Let Freedom Ring!” Town Hall Forum hosted by national television and radio personality Crane Durham. The town hall, coordinated by the Randolph County Young Republicans, will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 24th at “The V” Hall in Red Bud. Admission is free and open to the public.

“Randolph County Young Republicans is thrilled to bring Crane Durham to Red Bud to interact with voters and candidates, “explained Eric Robert, an event organizer and president of the Randolph County Young Republicans.” Crane conducts world-class interviews every day on his radio show ‘Nothing But Truth’. Make no mistake, we aren’t asking him to pull any punches with the candidates.”

Senator Dave Luechtefeld, who has attended all of the preceding “Let Freedom Ring!” Town Halls, encouraged voters at an earlier Town Hall saying, “If enough people want something bad enough that they will do something about it, anything is possible in a representative de-mocracy like the United States. This year, we are seeing what is possible.”

The town hall format gives the public an opportunity to ask all attending candidates tough questions about how they will preside in office. Invitations have been extended to a variety of state and local candidates. Confirmed attendees include Illinois Senator David Luechtefeld, U.S. House candidate Teri Davis Newman, Illinois House candidate Glen Farley, Randolph County Commissioner candidate Dave Holder, Randolph County Sheriff candidate Mike Hoel-scher, Randolph County Clerk candidate James Odom, and Regional Superintendent of Schools Marc Kiehna.

Crane Durham is a conservative commentator and host of “Nothing But Truth”, a nationally syndicated television and radio program available on American Family Radio every weekday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prior to achieving national exposure, Mr. Durham was heard regu-larly on St. Louis-based FM News Talk 97.1. Mr. Durham has interviewed hundreds national and local newsmakers including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Major-ity Leader Harry Reid.

The Randolph County Young Republicans (RCYR) provides vital grassroots support for con-servative candidates and issues on the local, state, and national level. RCYR presents an op-portunity for Republicans and conservatives between the ages of 18 and 40 to improve and reform Randolph County communities through campaign organization, political activism, chari-table projects, and fundraising. RCYR events provide the opportunity to exchange ideas, cre-ate friendships, and connect with conservatives in the Randolph County area.

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If you would like more information about this event, or to schedule an interview with an event organizer, please call Eric Robert at (618) 971-7882 or e-mail eric_robert@me.com.

‘Let Freedom Ring’ Town Hall Announced for Chester, Red Bud

Eric Robert — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 12:58:26 +0000

With the November 2010 Election mere weeks away, the Randolph County Young Republicans will be hosting two events for voters to have the opportunity to personally meet and ask questions of local candidates for office. Both events are free to the public and all voters are invited to attend.

The third of four ‘Let Freedom Ring’ Town Hall events will be held Sunday, October 17^th, at the Chester VFW Hall. The event will begin at 5:30pm with free sandwiches, with the question & answer portion of the program beginning at 7:00pm. The last event in the 4-part series will take place October 24^th, 7pm, at the Red Bud VFW, and will be moderated by national talk-show host personality Crane Durham. All events are free and open to the public.

Those candidates scheduled to appear include State Senator David Luechtefeld, County Commissioner candidate David M. Holder, CPA, County Sherriff candidate Michael Hoelscher, County Clerk candidate James Odom, State Representative candidate Glen Farley, U.S. Congressional candidate Teri Davis Newman, and Regional Office of Education Superintendent Dr. Marc Kiehna.

YR Town Hall in Sparta Bring Candidates, Voters Together

Eric Robert — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:30:46 +0000

Candidates Attend YR Town Hall in Sparta

To say it was a busy weekend for Randolph County’s Republicans would be an understatement.

The line-up of candidates on the Republican ticket, along with their supporters, were out in force this past weekend to meet with voters and exchange ideas on how they would lead if elected. Their weekend began with the slate of candidates, flanked by nearly 60 supporters, walking in the Sparta Homefest Parade on Saturday afternoon. Later that day, county Republicans hosted a well-attended Voter ‘Meet and Greet’ event at the City Park of Ruma. County Board Candidate David Holder says, “The voters of Randolph County deserve better leadership in the County Courthouse than what they’ve had over the past decade or more. I’m making it my job to listen to the voters and hopefully enact the reforms they deserve.”

The final event of the weekend was Sunday evening’s Town Hall Voter Forum, held at the Sparta VFW. Hosted by the Randolph County Young Republican organization, this forum was the first of three Town Hall style events being held across the county giving voters the opportunity to personally meet and ask questions of the candidates. The next two Town Hall Forums will be held October 17^th at the Chester VFW and October 24^th at a location to be announced in Red Bud. All events begin at 7:00pm, and are offered free to the public. The Red Bud forum is scheduled to be moderated by nationally-syndicated radio talk-show host Crane Durham.

In addition to County Board Candidate David M. Holder, CPA, County Sherriff Candidate Michael Hoelscher, and County Clerk Candidate James Odom, scheduled to attend the Town Hall Forums are Senator David Luechtefeld, State Representative Candidate Glen Farley, Regional Office of Education Superintendent Dr. Marc Kiehna, and U.S. Congressional Candidate Teri Davis Newman.

Mike Huckabee Endorses Bill Brady in Marion

Eric Robert — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:20:34 +0000

A familiar face visited Southern Illinois recently with our future governor, Bill Brady. Fox News personality, and possible Presidential contender, Mike Huckabee endorsed Sen. Brady recently at a fundraiser in Marion. Check out WSIL’s coverage below:

“Let Freedom Ring!” Sparta Town Hall this Sunday!

Eric Robert — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:06:54 +0000

Randolph County Young Republicans is proud to bring you our “Let Freedom Ring!” Town Hall this Sunday, September 26 at 7:00 pm at the Sparta VFW!

We will have a variety of national, state, and local conservative candidates ready to take questions from the public. Come prepared to ask insightful questions and challenge our candidates to stand for conservative victory in 2010.

If you would like to help the YRs put on this event, we will be passing out event and candidate information this Saturday at the Sparta Homefest Parade and canvasing church parking lots in Sparta on Sunday morning. If you are available to help, please e-mail or call us at 618-971-7882 (Eric Robert) or 618-973-5627 (Matt Wagner).

YR Update: Yard Signs and Chester Popeye Parade

Eric Robert — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:12:23 +0000

Fellow Young Republicans (and those young-at-heart),

Election season is officially upon us and the YRs are headed full steam ahead into November, starting this weekend!

This Saturday, September 11th, join the YRs and the Randolph County GOP as we walk for Conservative Victory in the Chester Popeye Parade. Walkers will be lining up at 10:30 am by Chester High School.

This Sunday, September 12th, please help us distribute yard signs throughout the county. The YRs are coordinating yard sign placement in Red Bud, Sparta, Baldwin, Ruma, Evansville, and Prairie du Rocher this Sunday. We’ll meet at Red Bud McDonald’s parking lot at 2:00 pm on Sunday and split into groups of two. Our plan is to cover as much territory as possible this Sunday, but we will go back out during the weekday evenings and following weekends until the county is covered.

Many of you joined us in January for our “Let Freedom Ring!” Town Hall event. We have officially scheduled three town halls between now and election day for all of our candidates to take questions direction from voters. Dates and times are:

Sparta Town Hall: Sunday, September 26th, 7:00 pm; Sparta VFW
Chester Town Hall: Sunday, October 17th, 7:00 pm; Chester VFW
Red Bud Town Hall: Sunday, October 24th, 7:00 pm; Red Bud TBD

RCYR’s aim is to be the “hands and feet” of Conservative Victory in Randolph County, but putting on public service events is not without cost. If you are interesting in assisting us financially to support our efforts this election season, please contact me at eric_robert@me.com or 618-971-7882. You can rest assured that any resources you provide

will be used to directly fund our campaign efforts, and not go to unnecessary overhead.

To keep up to date with all YR events, join us on Facebook or go to RandolphYoungRepublicans.com. Please don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail (eric_robert@me.com) or phone (618-971-7882) if you ha

ve any questions. We look forward to seeing you this weekend, and all election season!

Thank you,

Eric Robert, President

Randolph County Young Republicans

Republican Candidates Make Presence Felt at Steeleville Parade

Eric Robert — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:23:03 +0000

Republican candidates for office were out in full force on Monday, July 5th for the annual Steeleville Independence Day Parade. Nearly 100 supporters walked in the parade alongside 8 of the 12 Republican candidates and cur-rent office-holders that will be on the ballot in Randolph County in November. According to Rick Hall, the Ran-dolph County Republican County Chair, “Our candidates have widespread support, and the warm welcome we received today in Steeleville proves that the citizens in Randolph County are eager to embrace a new direction and new ideas for our county, region, and state.”

The Republican Party offers several experienced and qualified candidates for county-wide office, in-cluding Sheriff Candidate Mike Hoelscher. A Viet-nam Veteran who has made it his career to protect citizens and teach our youth about the dangers of drug use, Hoelscher noted, “I want to bring integrity to the office of Sherriff in our county. Our citizens deserve an experienced Sherriff who will protect and serve, and I know I’ll bring those qualities to that of-fice.”

While county candidates were well-represented, the opportunity to meet voters didn’t escape several re-gional and state Republican candidates. Alongside the Republican supporters was Okawville-native State Senator David Luechtefeld. “It’s no secret the State of Illinois is near bankruptcy. Hopefully voters remember who has been in absolute control in Springfield over the past eight years,” says the Senator.

Other candidates and office-holders who greeted voters along the parade route included County Board Candidate David Holder, County Clerk Candidate James Odom, Regional Superintendent of Education Dr. Marc Kiehna, State Representative Candidate Glen Farley, U.S. Congressional Candidate Teri Davis-Newman, Lt. Governor Candidate Jason Plummer, along with several volunteers from the campaign of Governor candidate Bill Brady.

Lieutenant Governor Candidate Jason Plummer Visits Red Bud Firemen’s Picnic

Eric Robert — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:12:05 +0000

Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Jason Plummer visited with voters in Red Bud Saturday evening. Plummer, an Edwardsville resident, arrived at the picnic in the early evening on Saturday, June 26^th and spoke with voters throughout the night. Plummer attended the event with family, supporters, and members of the Randolph County Young Republicans.

According to Plummer, “Senator Brady and I understand the issues facing downstate Illinois. As businessmen, we know that reviving areas like Randolph County are the key to turning our great state around. The number one issue facing the residents of our state is a lack of quality jobs.” Plummer is campaigning with State Senator Bill Brady of Bloomington, Republican candidate for Governor.

Both candidates are opposed to tax increases being proposed by the current administration. Plummer said, “Illinois has lost around 230,000 jobs in just the 15 months since Governor Quinn took over from his partner, Rod Blagojevich. Together, over the eight years of their administrations, Illinois has lost over 700,000 jobs. The answer is not increasing taxes at least 33% on the hardworking people and businesses of this state, as Governor Quinn proposes – the answer is increasing the tax base. Senator Brady and I are going to work hard to provide an environment where business in Illinois can thrive and the citizens of our state can find quality jobs and career growth. That is how we are going to turn this state around.”

“It is a welcome change to have statewide candidates recognize the importance of towns like Red Bud,” claimed Randolph County Young Republicans President Eric Robert. “Finally Illinoisans have the chance to send honest, Southern Illinois-based conservatives like Jason Plummer to clean up the Democrats’ mess in Springfield.”

Jason Plummer is an executive at RP Lumber, his family-owned construction supply business. Mr. Plummer also serves as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Navy Reserves. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Plummer worked at the Heritage Foundation – the conservative think-tank and public policy institute in Washington, D.C. He has been involved in numerous campaigns and causes, including serving as an intern to former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald.

The Randolph County Young Republicans (RCYR) provides vital grassroots support for conservative candidates and issues on the local, state, and national level. RCYR presents an opportunity to reform Randolph County communities through campaign organization, political activism, charitable projects, and fundraising. For more information contact Eric Robert at (618) 971-7882 or visit http://randolphyoungrepublicans.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Randolph County Young Republicans Support Illinois Fair Map Amendment

Eric Robert — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:39:30 +0000

For the last three decades, Illinois legislators have created districts that ensure their re-election by drawing their own legislative maps behind closed doors. Randolph County Young Republicans (RCYR) hopes to put a stop to this unethical redistricting process by supporting the Illinois Fair Map Amendment. RCYR is collecting signatures for the Illinois Fair Map Amendment petition through March 27^th.

“Ninety-eight percent of elections for the Illinois legislature are won by the incumbent. This is indicative of a legislative mapping process that is broken and unfair to voters,” said Eric Robert, President of Randolph County Young Republicans. “The Illinois Fair Map Amendment represents an opportunity to effectively change the culture of corruption that haunts Illinois.”

The Illinois Fair Map Amendment is based on a proposal put forth by the bipartisan Illinois Reform Commission. The Amendment would allow for an independent commission to draw the state’s legislative district boundaries in an open and transparent process after the 2010 census.

Legislative boundaries are currently drawn by the General Assembly and its leaders, with partisan control literally picked out of a hat, every ten years. “In Illinois, incumbents become more entrenched with districts drawn to protect those legislators who are loyal; competition is squelched and politicians choose their voters. The result is the lack of courage and failure in leadership we’re seeing today. The Illinois Fair Map Amendment is the opportunity people have been waiting for to take back Illinois,” claimed Jan Czarnik, Executive Director of the Illinois League of Women Voters, another group supporting the Amendment.

If you’re not happy with corruption in Illinois government and would like to support the Amendment, you can sign the petition by contacting RCYR online at or calling at (618) 971-7882.

The Randolph County Young Republicans (RCYR) provides vital, grassroots support for conservative candidates and issues on the local, state, and national level. RCYR presents an opportunity for Republicans and conservatives between the ages of 18 and 40 to improve and reform Randolph County communities through campaign organization, political activism, charitable projects, and fundraising. RCYR events provide the opportunity to exchange ideas, create friendships, and connect with conservatives in the Randolph County area.