College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. The

College Republican National Committee The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is a national organization for College Republicans, including college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the United States. The organizatio ...

(CRNC) is the oldest campus-based organization for Republican students and was founded in 1892. It currently represents 250,000 students on over 2,000 campuses. The Republican Party is not affiliated with any college groups, although Republican Party members often benefit from college students' campaign efforts on their behalf.Amy Binder and Kate Wood. 2013. ''Becoming Right:'' ''How Campuses Shape Young Conservatives.'' Princeton University Press. Campus chapters may function independently, may be part of a statewide organization, or may be affiliated with a national alliance such as CRNC. The various campus-based Republican clubs function as recruitment organizations for the Republican Party and have produced many prominent Republican and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

activists.

Notable organizations

Notable national college Republican organizations include: * College Republican National Committee (CRNC) * National Federation of College Republicans *

College Republicans of America A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

* College Republicans United

Governance of national organizations

College Republican National Committee (CRNC)

The

(CRNC), has historically been the main national College Republicans organization. Founded in 1892, it remains the largest and most active College Republicans organization with over 250,000 members on 2,000 campuses across the United States. The CRNC National Chairwoman and the national leadership team, including an executive director, political director, finance director, comptroller, national field director, treasurer, national secretary, and 4 regional vice-chairs, are elected at the bi-annual College Republican Convention. The current CRNC National Chairwoman is Courtney Britt. In recent years, the CRNC has lost many of its state affiliates and chapters. Following RNC Chairman

Michael Whatley Michael Whatley (born 1968 or 1969) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since March 2024. Before this, he was chair of the North Carolina Republican Party for five years, the ...

's dissolution of the RNC "Youth Advisory Board," the CRNC lost its 132-year long endorsement by the RNC.

College Republicans United (CRU)

The College Republicans United (CRU) was established in 2018 to oppose what was seen as a CRNC that was hostile to President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. It consists of various college chapters in Arizona and Iowa. The leadership structure and bylaws of the organization are not made public. The CRU have been criticized for chapters which allegedly posted "anti-Semitic" and "racist" postings online, causing rifts between the CRU and other CR organizations and donors, and has been described as "

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

". The CRU drew further outrage after inviting

Nick Fuentes Nicholas Joseph Fuentes (born August 18, 1998) is an American Far-right politics, far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * Pundit, political pundit, activist, and Online streamer, live streamer who promotes White supremacy, white supremacist, Hom ...

, a noted "white nationalist," to their National Convention event. The group previously invited another white nationalist,

Jared Taylor Samuel Jared Taylor (born September 15, 1951) is an American white supremacist and editor of ''American Renaissance'', an online magazine espousing such opinions, which was founded by Taylor in 1990. He is also the president of ''American Re ...

, to speak at a campus event. On January 31, 2025, CRU set up a table at Arizona State University's Tempe campus, "to urge students to report their peers for deportation to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement." The CRU is currently the smallest federation by state and chapter count, containing 5 collegiate chapters.

National Federation of College Republicans (NFCR)

The National Federation of College Republicans was created in 2022 in response to controversies arising in the CRNC. The NFCR claims to encompass 22 state federations (including but not limited to Michigan, Georgia, and Maryland). The NFCR Leadership positions consist of a Chairperson, a National Vice Chairperson, an executive director, a treasurer, a secretary, and a Parliamentarian. Rachel Howard is the current National Chairwoman of the NFCR.

College Republicans of America (CRA)

The College Republicans of America (CRA) was established in 2023 and encompasses sixteen federations (Arizona,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Kansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, Utah, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin); a plurality of clubs in Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and West Virginia; and a few clubs in several additional states. The CRA has over 200 active, affiliated College Republicans chapters. Some notable chapters are the Penn State College Republicans, for the Pennsylvania Collegiate Leadership Conference and sizable deployments, and the Harvard Republican Club, for history and influence. According to the CRA website, its members broke away from the CRNC due to it falling "into disrepair." The CRA President and the national committee consist of an appointed president, appointed vice-presidents, appointed directors, and annually elected regional representatives. The CRA also has a Board of Governors which consist of one National Committeeman per state, elected or appointed by that state (so long as they are "in good standing") via however the state sees fit. The acting CRA President is Gabriel Guidarini. The CRA endorsed

for president during the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

and campaigned for him during the

2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses The 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses were held on January 15, 2024, as part of the Republican Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 40 delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention were allocated on a proporti ...

. Then-CRA President, Gabriel Guidarini, delivered the pledge of allegiance at the

2024 Republican National Convention The 2024 Republican National Convention was an event in which delegates of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party selected the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of ...

. The group has ties to

Turning Point Action Turning Point Action (TPAction) is an American 501(c)(4) organization that exists to embolden the conservative base through grassroots activism and provide voters with the necessary resources to elect true conservative leaders. It was founded ...

(TPA), with the COO of TPA serving on the CRA's advisory board.

Governance of state organizations

State federations

There are upwards of 40 College Republican state federations. Each federation administers the College Republican activities at the state level. The state federation leadership team, which includes a state

chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

and other officers, serve as the primary link between local university chapters and the national federation. The state chairman serves as the representative for College Republicans when dealing with the state Republican Party, local media, and governmental entities. State federations are responsible for organizing and assisting local chapters with securing proper credentials, recruitment efforts, and campus voter canvasses. It is a state federation's responsibility to organize and implement activities for statewide campaigns. Like the national organization, state federations operate as non-profit associations that are not legally affiliated with the Republican Party.

Campus chapters

The college and university-based chapters of College Republicans operate in a dual capacity as student clubs associated with a particular campus and as members of their state federation. Like the state federations and national committees, the campus chapters are affiliated with their local Republican Party, but are not official arms of that organization. The chapter chairperson and leadership team are responsible for maintaining the campus club's credentials and constitution, and representing the College Republicans when dealing with

university administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or Academic staff, academics, although some personn ...

, other student groups, and in the surrounding community. The campus chapter leadership team might include many members, with administrative responsibilities delegated to

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

and Greek chapter chairpersons.

Activities

During election season, campus chapters are responsible for organizing and implementing the campus

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

, running

mock election A mock election is an election for educational demonstration, amusement, or political protest reasons to call for free and fair elections. Less precisely it can refer to a real election purely for advisory (essentially without power) committees ...

s, managing the local

get-out-the-vote "Get out the vote" or "getting out the vote" (GOTV) describes efforts aimed at increasing the voter turnout in elections. In countries that do not have or enforce compulsory voting, voter turnout can be low, sometimes even below a third of the e ...

efforts. At other times, the campus chapters will organize issue advocacy and

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

efforts, welcome

guest speakers to campus, and organize social events and other recruitment activities. Generally, the hired field representative or chapter chair begins the school year with membership tables on campus for recruitment. Members use door-to-door canvassing and

word of mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...

to identify and

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), ...

as many Republican voters among the student body as possible. These individuals are encouraged to vote through an

absentee ballot Absentee or The Absentee may refer to: * Absentee (band), a British band * The Absentee, a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1812 in ''Tales of Fashionable Life'' * ''The Absentee'' (1915 film), a 1915 American silent film directed by Christy ...

and assist the candidates with election day

Get Out The Vote "Get out the vote" or "getting out the vote" (GOTV) describes efforts aimed at increasing the voter turnout in elections. In countries that do not have or enforce compulsory voting, voter turnout can be low, sometimes even below a third of the e ...

efforts. Chapters occasionally run student mock elections and other special events as a means to gain positive earned media attention for a candidate.

Gallery

Image:College Republicans at George Fox.jpg, A campus chapter meeting at

George Fox University George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

Image:North Florida College Republicans for McCain.jpg, College Republicans from

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public university, public research university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern ...

rally for

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:College Republicans College Republicans Republican Party (United States) organizations Student organizations established in 1892 527 organizations Conservative organizations in the United States Student wings of political parties in the United States Youth politics in the United States Youth wings of political parties in the United States