Dear RNC Member,
 
Everyone recognizes the need to use the latest technology as tools for communicating our message to voters and ultimately energizing them to get involved and vote for our Party’s candidates. As a state party chairman, I have and will continue to embrace technological advances in new and creative ways to train Republicans and reach our electorate. My latest video message will give you a peek at the successes we’ve achieved.
  

I look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. this week. I would appreciate your consideration and vote for Co-Chair.
 
Tina 

Election Success Highlights of the Republican Party of Texas
Under the Leadership of Chairman Tina Benkiser

Republicans hold an historic record of 2,395 elected offices in Texas today.

Highlights of What We’ve Won

• Voted for the Republican Presidential nominee in consecutive elections
• Swept all statewide offices on the ballot in consecutive elections
• Maintained control of the Texas Senate and Texas House
• Won nearly 500 seats from Democrats at the district and local level
  • Made historic gains in local offices every election including those in traditionally Democrat areas
  • Made gains in 95 counties in 2006; gains in 86 counties in 2008
  • Elected the first Republican officials since Reconstruction in a number of counties
• Re-elected U.S. Senators in 2006 and 2008
• Gained a seat in U.S. Congress in 2008 (6 seats in 2004)

Highlights of How We Won

• Registered 333,146 new Republicans statewide in 2008 alone
• Conducted live voter id for hundreds of thousands of voters and applied new or updated information to over 13 million voters in voter file
• Produced and mailed millions of direct mail pieces, including mail-in ballot applications, slate mail, chase pieces, early voting and GOTV pieces
• Conducted millions of GOTV calls
• Produced and sent millions of educational/issue-related and GOTV emails
• Produced RPT-TV episodes in 2008 election, several garnered national media attention and were then run as earned media on national news
• Trained thousands of volunteers as well as candidates and campaigns statewide each year
• Provided millions of dollars of support to local parties and candidates

Other Notable Achievements

• Built the largest state party donor base in the nation
• Placed initiatives regarding issues such as tax reform and protecting private property on the Primary Ballot, which garnered more support than any candidate on the ballot
• In 2005, helped turnout a record number of voters in a Constitutional Amendment election, setting a record for turnout by nearly one million votes
• In 2008, broke all recent turnout records in the Primary

I would appreciate your consideration and vote for Co-Chair.

Thanks,

Tina Benkiser

Candidate for RNC Co-Chairman

To RNC Members,

I have been working hard to reach every one of you individually about the upcoming RNC Co-Chair race. I am getting excited about working with you to build strong state organizations in every area of our nation. Since many of you were unable to attend the RNC Meeting in early January and missed the opportunity to hear from one of my opponents and me, I thought I’d share my opening comments with you:

I’m Tina Benkiser, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. I’d like to thank the RNC and each of you for the opportunity to share why I want to be your next Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee. 

I also want to take a moment to thank Chairman Duncan and Co-Chairman Davidson for their service to our Party.

We have so many new members, I’d like to briefly share my background then more importantly my vision for victory as we all lead our Party back to respect and relevance.

As you can tell by my accent I grew up just south of Chicago but north of Key West. My parents instilled in my brother and me a deep love for America, a passion for its founding principles, and a desire to serve her people. So, I became an attorney. About 20 years ago, I moved to Texas to practice law with a multi-national corporation and later an international intellectual property law firm before opening my own practice.

Married for 18 years, my husband Eric and I live in Houston. Traveling and working internationally, both of us have come to appreciate America in a new and very real way. The sacrifice of a successful law practice to serve as a full-time volunteer state chairman fighting for freedom and liberty for the last 5 years has been worth the cost. That’s why Eric is my biggest cheerleader, and I am so grateful for that.

Starting at grassroots level many years ago and rising to chair a state party comprised of 254 diverse counties where politics can be a blood sport, I stand before you today a proven successful leader and battle-tested warrior. With Democrats planning to let government decide what is best for us in every area of our lives, we are going to need all the leaders with combat experience that we can get.

In the last 5 years, we’ve grown the largest donor base of any state party in the nation. With our aggressive “Train the Trainer” programs, thousands of activists and candidates are trained each year. Also, working with thousands of grassroots leaders who all believe like I do that the power of this Party is in its principles and people, we’ve taken almost 500 seats away from Democrats, breaking records and making historic gains in every area of our State. And, I know that such success is directly attributable to work at the local level, not dictates from DC. And, at our state convention, we not only take care of business but also celebrate our success with 12-15,000 activists, donors, elected officials, and guests every election cycle.

To be entrusted with any leadership of our country again, the RNC must grow our Party with integrity. Imagine an energized and interactive RNC where all of our members’ talents and experiences are used to focus on the two keys to winning again: 1) promoting a conservative philosophy of government, and 2) building infrastructure in every state party so that Republicans can be effectively engaged in the process. We are a team, and the RNC needs to start acting like it.

When our elected officials actually live up to the principles in our platform, we encourage individual responsibility, stronger families, lower taxes, limited government but unlimited opportunity for all. Easier to say than do, we must hold our elected officials accountable. And, I have done so on numerous occasions – even when it was my own President. Our principles allow people to achieve the American dream, not grow government that spends us into the poor house, which the government also owns.

Embracing ever-evolving technology allows us to efficiently organize as well as effectively communicate our message directly to the people like never before. In this last election, you may have seen our RPT-TV video episodes, several of which gained national prominence on Fox News National because of the hundreds of thousands of hits we had on You Tube.

Bottom line, I love what I do. I understand servant leadership. I have a proven track record. I want to roll up my sleeves and work with each of you to make your state organization the best it can be and make our national party effective, relevant and respected.

I ask for your vote for Co-Chair of the RNC.

Thanks. I look forward to seeing you next week.

Tina

Welcome,

First, to RNC members and all those who work tirelessly for Republican principles, thank you for your continued sacrifice of time, talent and treasure to ensure a strong foundation and an even better future for our nation.

Having chaired one of the most successful Republican Party organizations in the nation for the last 5 years, I am ready to bring that experience along with a commitment and passion for our Party’s principles to the Republican National Committee. So, with the encouragement of many RNC members, I announced my candidacy for Co-Chair of the RNC in December. The campaign is going great, and I invite you to join me in our quest to return our national party to respect and relevance in every state, territory and possession.

Please know that I am committed to working with all RNC members to grow our Party with integrity, restore the trust and faith of voters in our Party, and return to our winning ways.

Tina

Dear RNC Members,

At our upcoming RNC winter meeting, we are faced with some of the most critical decisions that we will make as RNC members when we elect our leadership for the next two years. Facing an opposition party dominated Congress and White House, we need to elect proven successful leaders who can help grow our Party with integrity, restore the trust and faith of voters in our Party, and return our Party to its winning ways. I know that each of you are taking this election seriously, and I would appreciate your vote for RNC Co-Chairman.

As chairman of a successful state party comprised of 254 diverse counties where politics can be a blood sport, I am battle-tested and bring invaluable experience to the RNC leadership team. I understand that to win, our Party’s mission must be to:

1) Promote a conservative philosophy of government, and

2) Build infrastructure in all 50 states plus territories and possessions so that those who share our philosophy can be effectively engaged in the political process.

Our Republican philosophy is based on respect for the individual as set forth in our U.S. Constitution and founding documents. By advocating policies that promote strong families, personal responsibility, strong national defense, lower taxes, limited government but unlimited opportunity for all, we win elections and empower people.

Our national Party grew and was entrusted with leadership when it stayed true to its conservative principles. Focusing on fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense and traditional family values brought unprecedented growth to the Party not that long ago. America was and still is a center-right country. It was only when national Republican officials failed to stay true to the Party’s values and uphold high ethical standards that the Party began to lose races and the trust of the American people.

If the national Republican Party hopes to win in 2010 and beyond (and the only purpose in winning should be to elect officials who will put our philosophy into public policy), the Republican Party must restore trust and faith of America in its leadership.

2009 will be a rebuilding year. To that end, I believe our Party must elect leadership who can:

1)    Set forth a fresh vision for our Party, yet one committed to our conservative principles;

2)    Communicate a consistent, clear, concise, principled message in a positive and practical way to voters across America;

3)    Build a strong, grassroots infrastructure in all states, territories and possessions, providing them with resources for more effective and interactive organizations; and

4)    Set a high ethical standard and hold its leaders accountable to that standard.

Only then can we develop a winning political plan in all areas of our nation. As we do this, we will be able to expand our donor base and raise the funds necessary to accomplish our mission. I know this is possible because my state party has developed the largest state party donor base in the nation.

I have enjoyed incredible success in Texas thanks to many strong, grassroots leaders – just like you. In the last few election cycles, Republicans have won almost 500 seats previously held by Democrats, making historic gains in every area of our state. For the first time ever, Republicans hold almost 2400 offices across Texas. We’ve done this by helping recruit, train and equip leaders in every area of the state and, then, helping them win.

Speaking to thousands of people and the press about our Party and principles, I have appeared on national television and talk radio, and I routinely appear and publish in media markets across Texas. Further, I have reached voters through millions of phone calls, direct mail, and electronic and emerging media. In this last election cycle, several of our “RPT TV” episodes earned national media attention for their no-nonsense, hard-hitting truth.

Our challenges are great, but we can restore our Party and return to winning across our nation. But, it will take all of us working together to do so. I hope you will allow me to use my experience to serve you in RNC leadership.

I am committed to continue building personal relationships, planning, organizing, working and fighting for conservative change to build a better America and a brighter tomorrow. I hope that you will consider electing me as your RNC Co-Chair.

Sincerely,

Tina Benkiser

Candidate for RNC Co-Chairman

Chairman, Republican Party of Texas

As I continue calling all of you, I am reminded of the incredible wealth of experience and commitment that RNC members have to offer our Party. Please know that I am looking forward to working with each of you to make our Party more successful.

We talk about technology and the need to better utilize it in our political operations. I thought I would give you a quick glimpse of one of the ways we’ve been connecting with people. Here is a brief introduction: