Ned Ryun is an American conservative activist who is the founder and CEO of

American Majority American Majority is a nonprofit organization that provides training to conservatism in the United States, conservative activists and political candidates in the United States. Registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, American Majority ...

, a conservative organization that trains candidates and activists.

Education and background

Ryun is the son of

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican Party (United States), Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a si ...

, the former Republican congressman and distance runner.Elena Schneider
Feingold State Department documents won’t pop before 2016 election
''Politico'' (September 8, 2016).Elena Schneider
Each party's Senate hopes rests on least-known candidate
''Politico'' (November 2, 2016).

Career in government and as conservative activist

Ryun was a speechwriter for President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. He is the founder and president of American Majority, a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

-based

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 ...

political training institute allied with the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

. The group was founded in 2008. Its

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...

affiliate is American Majority Action, of which Ryun was CEO. Ryun has been a board member of the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

. During the

2011 Wisconsin protests The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February and involving as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also called the ''"Wisconsin Budge ...

against Republican Governor Scott Walker's proposal to restrict collective bargaining and organized labor, Ryun helped organize counter-demonstrations in favor of the legislation. A career Republican Party operative, as of 2013 Ryun was the CEO of Voter Gravity, a Republican data firm used for the party's

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; the company created "tablet and smartphone accessible canvassing maps, walk lists, voter information and dialing tools." In 2016, Ryun was a long-shot candidate for the chairmanship of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. Ryun is a staunch ally of

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 ...

.Alex Isenstadt & Marc Caputo
Trumpworld clashes over Barrett vs. Lagoa
''Politico'' (September 22, 2020). In 2017, Ryun critiqued the Republican tax proposal for not going far enough, accusing the bill of being "a grab bag of goodies for the uberwealthy globalists." In September 2020, after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, Ryun pushed for Trump to fill the vacancy created by Ginsburg's death before the November 2020 presidential election. He pushed for Trump to nominate

Amy Coney Barrett Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2020 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fifth wom ...

over

Barbara Lagoa Barbara Lagoa (born November 2, 1967) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to becoming a federal judge, she ...

. Ryun was appointed by Trump to his

1776 Commission The 1776 Commission, also nicknamed the 1776 Project, is an advisory committee established in September 2020 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump to support what he called "patriotic education". The commission released ''The 1776 Report'' on Janu ...

, which produced a report on American history that linked progressivism to fascism. ''The New York Times'' noted that the report was criticized by mainstream historians. Ryun is the author of three books: * ''The Adversaries: A Story of Boston and Bunker Hill'' (2021) * ''Restoring Our Republic: The Making of the Republic and How We Reclaim It Before It's Too Late'' (2019) * ''American Leviathan: The Birth of the Administrative State and Progressive Authoritarianism'' (2024) In addition, he has co-authored two books with his father and twin brother, Drew Ryun: *''Heroes Among Us'' (2002) *''The Courage to Run'' (Gospel Light Publications: 2006),

References

External links

NedRyun.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryun, Ned Living people People from Purcellville, Virginia People from Santa Barbara, California University of Kansas alumni Writers from Virginia Kansas Republicans Virginia Republicans Year of birth missing (living people) Activists from Virginia American male non-fiction writers