By: Rebecca Witherspoon, April 8, 2025
In recent years, Republicans have faced a recurring challenge—not from Democrats, but from within their own ranks. Too often, promising candidates and well-organized grassroots movements are derailed by internal squabbles over minor issues. Instead of uniting around shared values and winning strategies, the party wastes time and energy in circular firing squads. The result? Missed opportunities, fractured support, and unnecessary losses at the local and state level.
For many younger conservatives and those living in more urban areas like Dane County, Wisconsin, it’s easy to feel like your vote doesn’t count. Local elections often result in left-leaning liberals taking office—even when their policies don’t reflect the values or concerns of a significant portion of the community. But here’s the hard truth: the problem isn’t just who wins. It’s howRepublicans lose. And too often, they lose because they’re too busy fighting each other.
Petty infighting and rigid purity tests do more than weaken the conservative message—they drive away potential allies and silence voices that are eager to be heard. Public arguments over tone, social media posts, or narrowly defined ideological lines create division, sap energy, and hand easy victories to the opposition. These internal power struggles confuse voters, drain resources, and dampen enthusiasm. It’s hard to inspire turnout when your message is overshadowed by conflict.
And this dysfunction often starts at the top!
Electing the right local and county party leaders matters—more than many people realize. When leadership is focused on strategy, outreach, and results, the whole movement benefits. Conservative voices are amplified, quality candidates are recruited and supported, and voter engagement increases. But when party leaders focus more on smearing other conservatives than on building a winning coalition, the result is toxic and uninviting. It discourages new involvement and pushes away those who simply want to serve, lead, and make a difference. Toxic leadership turns potential allies into bystanders—and that costs elections.
Younger conservatives and voters in blue-leaning areas are especially affected by this dysfunction. Many are passionate about individual freedom, financial stability, public safety, and strong local leadership—but they don’t always see a party unified enough to champion those values. What’s often lost in these arguments is perspective. Most conservatives agree on the fundamentals: liberty, limited government, fiscal responsibility, and strong families. So why let disagreements over tactics or tone take precedence over these shared convictions?
Instead of magnifying differences, we should be building bridges. When local GOP groups spend more time tearing each other down than lifting up candidates, it reinforces the belief that conservative voices in cities and suburbs don’t matter. That’s simply not true.
Conservative values are still relevant, still needed, and still capable of winning hearts—but only if the movement is focused, united, and welcoming. If Republicans want to govern effectively, they need to actually win elections. That means setting aside ego-driven feuds and focusing on what truly matters: real-world issues like jobs, education, energy, national security, and public safety. Local leaders should prioritize voter engagement, register new conservatives, and win over independents through real conversations—not ideological gatekeeping.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. We must start looking forward and that includes embracing new ideas and strategies for how to win the hearts of voters. This isn’t a call to abandon principle—it’s a call to prioritize. Winning doesn’t mean watering down values or demanding uniformity. It means having the maturity and discipline to choose battles wisely, support strong candidates, and stay focused on the bigger picture. It also means reaching out to newer voters, supporting candidates who address local concerns, and showing up to vote—even when the odds feel stacked. Every vote matters, especially in local elections where policy hits closest to home.
Republicans don’t need to agree on everything—but we must agree that unity is essential. If we want to protect conservative values and make a real impact, we have to stop handing the other side easy wins through internal division and toxic leadership.
It’s time to stop fighting each other and start fighting for something again—our communities, our values, and our future. Unity wins elections. Division hands them over. This is your moment—whether you’re new to the movement, living in a city, or just tired of being written off. Show up. Speak out. And don’t give up on your voice. It matters now more than ever.
Musings By Rebecca 