April 28, 2013 IM IN.

With one short sentence, Ive changed my plans for the next few days, months, and even for the coming year. I had planned on sitting back, focusing on school and my corner of the world, but not anymore. As Ive watched what has unfolded in county conventions across our state, and as Ive watched the Republican Party go through what can only be described as an identity crisis of the first degree, Ive decided that sitting back isnt the path for me. So, Im announcing today that Im running for Third Vice Chairman of the SC Republican Party. You might not know me, so Im going to take a second to introduce myself. Im a rising Junior at Wofford College where Ive been Chairman of College Republicans since 2011, and where I serve as the Parliamentarian for our student government. Ive been involved in politics in one form or another for quite some time, but my first organized involvement came in 2009 when I became the first intern for Jeff Duncans congressional campaign. Since then, Ive stayed involved, in the same way many of your have working in the trenches on local, state, and national campaigns; in addition, I was recently elected as one of the Vice Chairmen of the Laurens County Republican Party. You could say Im relatively new to the scene, and I would agree, but that doesnt make me any less conservative, or any less determined to see the SC Republican Party succeed. My biggest concern, and reason for running, is that some people seem to think that the only way for Republicans to win is to change who we are and what we believe. Let me make this unmistakably clear what we believe is not the problem. The problem is the way we message our beliefs, and the fact that for the last decade weve allowed those on the left to define our message as one of hate, oppression and conflict the conservative message is anything but! The conservative message is the only message of hope and prosperity, peace and security. To get voters to see that, weve got to get out in front of our messaging and weve got to learn how to answer skeptics and critics. Im running because I believe that the stakes are high, and Im running because I believe that I can make a difference. People come to College Republicans begging us to get involved; well, today Im stepping up to the plate. Id appreciate your prayers and your support over the coming days. God Bless,

Allen

allenforscgop@gmail.com