First Republican Presidential Debate Formally Kicks Off the 2024 Election Cycle

Posted by Ryan Fitzgerald on August 24, 2023

Photo courtesy: Politico

Election results have long-term impacts on the way our nation operates, relates to other nations, establishes policy that impacts our everyday lives, and sets the stage for the operating environments for our businesses, specifically our regulated financial institutions such as credit unions.

Last night, eight candidates for the Republican nomination met on the debate stage as they battle to determine who will challenge likely Democratic nominee and current U.S. President Joe Biden in the 2024 General Presidential Election. This first debate formally kicks off an election cycle that will see some intense partisan battles to determine who retains or retakes the White House as well as who will control Congress.

The eight candidates who qualified to participate in the debate included former and sitting Governors and Members of Congress, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. It also included members of the Trump Administration including former Vice President Mike Pence and former UN Ambassador and Governor Nikki Hailey. Viewers also had an official and broad-scale introduction to political newcomer and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who many believe made the most impact in the first debate. One of the largest players of the night was not actually in attendance at the debate, and that was former President Donald Trump, who declined to attend the event, but whose presence was felt and discussed throughout the night. (Photo courtesy: Politico)

As this event formally places the 2024 General Election into specific focus, our credit union advocates and the GoWest team are already hard at work meeting with members of the GoWest Congressional delegation and their teams to discuss pressing credit union issues as well as to better understand the makeup of the election landscape heading into next year. During this most recent recess,  GoWest advocates have met with Congressional members and staff from several offices, while they are back home in their districts, including Senators Mike Crapo (ID), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Patti Murray (WA), Jim Risch (ID), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), as well as Congressmen Cliff Bentz (OR-5) and Derek Kilmer (WA-5).

We have several upcoming events with key leaders, including:

• Suzan DelBene (WA-1) on September 8^th in Bellevue, WA
• Brittany Pettersen (CO-7) on September 25^th in Golden, CO
• Senator Patti Murray on October 30^th in the Seattle area.

Additional events are being planned with several other members of the delegation across our GoWest footprint, and we would greatly appreciate your planning to attend. If you are interested in attending any of these events or want more information, please reach out to our team Ryan Fitzgerald or Maddie Robertson to inquire.

Your advocacy efforts to bolster the priority of credit union issues and support credit union champions is the key to our future success. We look forward to seeing you on the trail as we continue heading toward the 2024 Election.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Federal Advocacy.