25-02-2025
Lincoln Day Dinner draws big crowd
Feb. 25—MOSES LAKE — Members and guests of the Grant County Republican Party gathered Saturday night to discuss the issues, network and fundraise at the annual Lincoln Day dinner.
Andrew Koeppen, county chair, said the dinner was sold out.
"Our preliminary numbers show this was another record year," Koeppen said.
The Lincoln Day Dinner is a longtime annual event for Republicans, and the 2025 dinner featured talks from William Kirk with Washington Gun Law and Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy), who represents the Ninth District in the Washington House of Representatives.
Koeppen said it's the party's annual fundraiser and a place for Republicans and others to meet and talk with each other.
"There was a lot of discussion and strategizing," he said
The Lincoln Day Dinner is also about celebrating what the party stands for, he said, and its history.
"It's really about celebrating Lincoln Day and the freedoms that we have," he said. "We're honoring the Republican legacy. It's to celebrate conservatism and (the Republican Party)."
In his speech, he said, he outlined what some of those fundamentals are.
"Respect, dialogue, personal responsibility, limited government and protection of our freedoms," he said.
The 2025 Washington legislative session is in full swing, and Dye outlined some of the bills she's sponsoring, as well as other bills that have been introduced — some good from the Republican perspective, and some bad. Kirk discussed gun laws in Washington, as well as the rights gun owners have under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Koeppen said he highlighted the continuity of change.
Trends that seemed firmly established six months or even two months ago have changed, he said. He cited the decrease in people crossing the U.S. borders without documentation. As an immigrant himself, he appreciates the importance of immigration, he said, but the rights and well-being of American citizens should be prioritized.
Koeppen said he thinks Grant County can be a leader in bringing some of those changes to the state of Washington.
"That's the exciting part about it," he said.
The dinner drew officeholders and party members from throughout Grant County, as well as officials from neighboring counties. An auction was part of the evening; Koeppen said it's the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Grant County GOP.
"It was a very positive night," he said.
