(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
BELLEVUE — With Election Day fast approaching and history suggesting the party out of power may experience a “blue wave,” Republicans at all levels are crisscrossing the country holding rallies to get out the vote.
On Wednesday evening, RNC Chair Joe Gruters held an event with Senator Pete Ricketts in Bellevue, rallying Sarpy County Republicans to get out the vote. Gruters also gave the guests a candid inside look at the party’s strategy heading into the midterms, and in the face of major political headwinds.
“We have a chance to defy history,” Gruters said. “Only four times in the last 150 years has the incumbent party been able to do it, and we have everything that we need.”
A Florida native, Gruters served in local party leadership as well as in the state House and Senate before becoming state chair in 2019. During this time, Republicans expanded their majorities across the state and won many statewide races.
Elected RNC chair in 2025, Gruters is hoping to do the same nationwide, and he believes victory at the polls will largely depend on candidate recruiting and finances.
“We spent two years recruiting great candidates to run for office, specifically in the House. We have more money than we’ve ever had in the history of the party. We’re deploying that in all these Senate seats across the country.”
Gruters believes that a lack of quality candidate recruitment caused an expected “red wave” in 2022 to fall flat.
“If you remember 2022, there was supposed to be some red tsunami under Joe Biden, right? And why didn’t it happen? Because we let the process play out and we let crazies win some of these primaries.”
Gruters expects things will be different this cycle, however, specifically because of recruiting efforts.
“We went out and recruited candidates we thought could win. We took them over to the White House, got the endorsement. They get the golden ticket. They win their primary, and then they’re off to the races.”
He cited President Trump as his party’s “secret weapon” as the President and Vice President campaign for Republican candidates across the country. On Thursday, JD Vance will appear in North Platte, Nebraska, while Donald Trump will campaign in Sioux City, Iowa.
Gruters also emphasized that party finances are strong, specifically crediting the Vice President.
“The vice president is our finance chairman, and he raises a ton of money,” Gruters said. “So this is the first cycle in history that the Republican collective will outspend the Democrats—just not in Nebraska. Or Georgia.”
Among the guests were Michael Tiedeman and Nancy Hicks, chairs of Sarpy and Douglas County, respectively, along with numerous elected members of the party, poll workers, and volunteers.
And Gruters emphasized that the battle is not just about conflicting political ideologies but fundamentally different worldviews.
“It’s going to be a total nightmare, because it’s not just Trump Derangement Syndrome. They’re not even running on anything. It’s American Derangement Syndrome,” Gruters said. “They want to fundamentally change the way you guys live. And we can’t let it happen. That’s why we have to fight.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.