Rinker wants to make change in Madison County GOP operations
ANDERSON — Lisa Rinker wants to make changes in how the Madison County Republican Party operates with an emphasis on communication.
Rinker is running for county chairwoman against Kelli Heuer to replace Russ Willis, who is not seeking a fourth term.
Current Madison County Commissioner Rick Gardner is running to serve as Heuer's vice chairman. He formerly served on the county council and two terms as county auditor.
The party caucus is set for March 1 at 9:30 a.m. at a location to be determined.
Rinker ran in the 2024 primary, losing to incumbent John Richwine for a seat on the Madison County Board of County Commissioners.
'After the primary, I talked to a lot of people who were blocked from the Republican Party (Facebook) page,' she said. 'It's extremely difficult to run an effective campaign without support from the party.
'I wanted to continue to be involved and make significant changes to the party organization,' Rinker said. 'I want party unity, and there shouldn't be factions in the party. Everyone should fell they are involved.'
She wants to unify the party and bring new voices to the GOP organization.
'I want to encourage strong candidates who feel like they're a part of the party,' Rinker said.
She wants to see more precinct committeemen elected and not have people appointed who don't live in the precinct.
'The committeemen are supposed to know their precincts the best,' Rinker said. 'You can't have a strong party unless you work with the party workers.'
She was surprised during her campaign in 2024 to learn that there is no Young Republican organization in the county.
Rinker said every person running for a Republican Party nomination "should hear from the party chairman to know the guidelines and rules of the party.'
She said it's important that the party have a headquarters location included on a list of priorities.
'I am optimistic going into the caucus,' Rinker said. 'I'm working hard to get support from the precinct committeemen and vice committeemen."
She is running with John Aukerman, who could serve as vice chairman.
'I reached out to John,' Rinker said. 'We share the same vision for the party.'
Aukerman, a strong supporter of the Madison County Tea Party, currently serves on the Anderson Township Advisory Board.
'I got to know John through the Tea Party,' Rinker said. 'We both want to strive for fairness, respect and how we treat other people.
Gardner in an announcement said he has been involved with the Republican Party for more than 15 years.
'I am committed to serving Madison County in the leadership role of vice chair to make a positive impact,' he said in a press release. 'We have a great responsibility and opportunity to continue to grow the party, welcome new members and collaborate with fellow Republicans to serve.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Scott Bessent dismisses Jamie Dimon's debt concerns, saying none of his past predictions have been right
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he doesn't agree with Jamie Dimon's prediction that the bond market will crack. "I've known Jamie a long time and for his entire career he's made predictions like this. Fortunately, none of them have come true. That's why he's a banker, a great banker. He tries to look around the corner," Bessent said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation." Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, told attendees at the Reagan National Economic Forum on Friday that the US "massively overdid" spending and quantitative easing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dimon predicted this will lead to a "crack in the bond market." "It is going to happen," Dimon said on Friday. "I just don't know if it's going to be a crisis in six months or six years, and I'm hoping that we change both the trajectory of the debt and the ability of market makers to make markets," he added. Bessent said the government is working on shrinking its deficit, and the administration intends to "leave the country in great shape in 2028." "So the deficit this year is going to be lower than the deficit last year, and in two years it will be lower again. We are going to bring the deficit down slowly. We didn't get here in one year, and this has been a long process," Bessent told CBS. Last month, House Republicans passed President Donald Trump's " big beautiful bill." The bill, in its current form, is expected to raise the deficit by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years, per the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The bill is now with the Senate, and GOP lawmakers hope to have it on Trump's desk by July 4. Dimon isn't the only one who has raised concerns about the US deficit. Last week, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" that he was " disappointed to see the massive spending bill." A clip from Musk's interview was released on Tuesday. The full interview aired on Sunday. "I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said. Musk was the leader of the White House DOGE office from January to May. He announced his departure from the Trump administration on Wednesday. "I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both," Musk told CBS.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
More Americans say neither party has strong leaders: CNN poll
Americans are more likely to say neither party has strong leaders than they are to attribute the characteristic to either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, according to the latest CNN/SSRS poll. In the May poll, released on Sunday, respondents were asked which party is best described as 'the party with strong leaders.' More than 4 in 10 people — 43 percent — said 'neither party,' while Republicans followed close behind with 40 percent. Only 16 percent of respondents said the statement best describes the Democratic Party. By comparison, in a 2006 poll that asked the same question, only 10 percent of respondents said 'neither party,' while 49 percent said the Republican Party and 35 percent said the Democratic Party. Among registered voters in the latest poll, more respondents — 44 percent — said Republicans are 'the party with strong leaders,' while 40 percent said 'neither party' and 15 percent said the Democrats. The survey comes as Democratic officials reckon with new reporting suggesting former President Biden's inner circle took steps to shield the American public from signs of his alleged mental and physical decline as he embarked on his reelection campaign. The Republican Party also controls the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The survey included 2,539 adults and was conducted May 5-26. The margin of error is 2.7 percentage points. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lt. Gov. Patrick calls legislative session most productive ever for Republicans
AUSTIN - The 89th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature is set to end on Monday after a frantic final push for big votes to meet critical deadlines. FOX 7's Rudy Koski talked to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick about the sprint to the finish line and an assessment of what was and wasn't accomplished this session. What they're saying "We're on the verge of the best, productive session ever for conservatives and for Republicans, but for all Texans. With school choice, the biggest amount of money ever put into public education, the biggest pay raises, a $200,000 homestead exemption for seniors, meaning almost all seniors in the state will never have to pay school property taxes again for as long as they own their home. We'll put the Ten Commandments back in the classrooms, prayer back in their classroom. And just a litany of bills that are going to change the face of Texas," said Patrick. The clock did run out on some of Patrick's priorities. A crackdown on mail order abortion pills, proof of citizenship for voting and bail bans for undocumented immigrants and violent repeat offenders did not pass this session. Patrick says there will always be some bills that don't make it through. "School choice alone would be a session. The public financing for public education and how we're redoing that and focusing on teachers and students really for the first time, that would be session bill. All of these big issues alone would be a session if you just pass one of them, and we're passing all of them," he said. What they're saying The lieutenant governor did partake in the political arm-twisting and made the occasional threat to force a special session if some of his priority bills failed in the House. "There's been less arm-twisting this session than ever. Better communication than ever. The relationship between the speaker's office and the lieutenant governor's office is light years ahead of where it's been the last four years, where there was no communication, quite frankly. The relationship between the senators and the house members, Republican and Democrats: better than it's ever been. You're always going to bump your head along the way somewhere and someone says something you're not happy with. I mean that's been almost non-existent," Patrick said. You can watch Texas: The Issue Is on FOX on Sunday nights or anytime on FOX LOCAL and the Texas: The Issue Is Podcast The Source Information in this article comes from an interview with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
