By Jacob Evans
The following is a discussion between the Carolina Review and Jason Simmons, Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. This exchange has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Carolina Review: So, Mr. Simmons, what has been the most difficult thing about your job as chairman? What steps are required to get a large group of conservatives united behind a policy objective or a particular political strategy? How do you deal with members who do not follow the party’s wishes and keep people united behind a common goal?
Jason Simmons: You packed a punch on that first question. So, the most difficult part of my job is there’s never enough hours, so there’s always more to do when you’re looking at preparing for the next election. So as soon as one election ends, we’re always preparing for the next, and so it is a constant state of preparing, and especially as we continue to move forward it’s finding, again, what is going to move the needle when we’re looking at all the various elections. So whether we just came out of the presidential, as we have, municipal elections this upcoming fall, and then you’re into midterms next year. And so the biggest challenge that I have is just pure time. When you’re talking about elections, there is a very strict end date on election day.
And so all the preparations, you always wish you had more time by the time you got to the election, despite how much time, effort you’re putting into it. The second part of that, when you’re looking at what unites Republicans— end of the day, it’s our policies. We understand our policies are better than the Democrats’, where we’re talking about a family-first agenda, where we’re providing high-quality educational opportunities, economic opportunities, public safety. These are the issues that drive elections, whether it’s, again— the various elections that we’re talking about— people concerned about the economy, public safety, and education. And we have better messages, we have better policies that have been proven, especially here in North Carolina, to resonate with the voters.
And so it’s putting those policies forward and having people from all parts of our party being able to move forward, understanding that we need to elect Republicans that would represent those values and principles that would move forward better policies here in North Carolina. That last question, how do you deal with members, it’s somewhat of a, again, loaded question because in politics you are playing to people’s best interest. And so it’s not so much that you’re trying to have something go against someone who wishes. You’re always appealing to their best interest. So if somebody has different plans on strategy or tactics, got it. But at the end of the day, the thing that matters the most is that we have a clear objective.
It’s to elect Republicans and people get behind that message. Awesome. Thank you so much. And then I can read the second question and I’ll just pass it back to you. Pardon me for just the little scribbles I had.
CR: Today the Republican Party has several prominent factions within its ranks, broadly speaking. Within the North Carolina GOP there are several key groups. Some might say these could be evangelicals, suburbanites, blue collar workers, etc. Which faction do you think has been historically the most prominent within the North Carolina GOP and how is that changing today?
JS: So, you look at what President Trump has done over the last eight years. He’s brought a lot of different people into the Republican Party that were not part of the party a decade ago. And so the party has really expanded its reach, it’s broadened who it appeals to— again, going back to the policies that matter the most. So there’s not one key group. All groups matter in that you have to bring everybody to the table and especially motivate them to get out and turn out to vote. And so what you’ve seen is really how the Republican Party has broadened its reach and how it’s also from the Democrat Party— they’ve really limited themselves.
They continue to play more in identity politics and people are rejecting that. Their policies, people are rejecting that. You’ve seen that over the last four years on the national level, where President Biden is in charge and the policies that he and Democrats pursued over that four-year period saw open borders, a weaker economy, a weaker America, and people rejected that with clear decisiveness in this past election, where you were able to see President Trump with a decisive victory—again—that appealed to a broader audience. And here in North Carolina, what you’ve also seen over the last eight years, the Democrat Party has hemorrhaged over 300,000 in its voter registration, where Republicans have gained over 300,000. So eight years ago when President Trump won in 2016, Democrats held an advantage of 645,000 on registration.
That number today is less than 30,000. Again, it’s a clear indication that people are fleeing the Democratic Party. They’re coming into the Republican Party because of our policies that matter to people. Awesome. Thank you.
CR: In the last election cycle, Donald Trump gained 50.86% of the vote share in North Carolina. On the other hand, Mark Robinson garnered a mere 40.0%. What steps are you undertaking to ensure that candidates are properly vetted and how do you ensure that Republicans do not lose down-ballot elections?
JS: Sure. So what you saw this past election cycle, again, people came to President Trump and rallied behind him.
Unfortunately, with some of these other races, there were challenges and clear headwinds and allegations that Mark Robinson faced and voters had to make that decision when they went to the ballot box. And so when we’re looking forward, especially into ‘26 and into ‘28, where you’re looking at your council of state races again, governor, etc., it’s making sure that you have good candidates with good messages and the money behind them to get their message out. Awesome.
CR: And the other question would be, having worked on all three of Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns, what has been the biggest difference between each? Do you believe that Trump’s political message or Trump the man has evolved from what he was or what he was espousing in 2016?
JS: There’s always growth. So, you know, but what you’ve seen is a consistent message from President Trump. It’s an America-first message, making sure that America and its interests are put first and foremost. And that’s resonated again with people. So whether that was in 2016 when he won and shocked the world, and then again in 2024 where again people understood, especially coming out of four years of Joe Biden, where it was very clear that America was not first.
And President Trump has been very clear on his message of putting America first and making sure that its interests and its policies that it’s pursued from the national level would only protect and serve America’s interests. So whether it’s closing the border, it’s strengthening our economy, or our standing in the world. It’s to make us safer and stronger.
CR: Understood. And then my last question, it kind of goes back to something that you mentioned just earlier. For many, particularly younger voters like myself or people on campus, there seems to be this general consensus that there’s very little benefit in joining any particular or specific political party, but the number of voters choosing to register as independents is increasing more than ever and likewise we’re getting a lot of people with the Republican Party and in our own ranks. What reason would you give to somebody who perhaps is thinking, “I’d rather be a registered, independent or unaffiliated?” What would you say to them to persuade them to join particularly the GOP or a political party in general?
JS: Well, again, what you saw coming out of this last election were young people that came to the Republican Party and President Trump in droves. They understood that the American Dream was out of reach because of Joe Biden and Democrat policies.
They no longer had the opportunity in front of them where jobs, security on the economic front were first and foremost when you have people coming out of college and graduating. The job market, you know, during those four years was scary. And for those that were coming out of school, the prospect of finding good-paying jobs, for many of them, was out of reach. And that also meant being able to start a family, buy a home, buy a car. All of these things that we attribute to the American Dream were out of reach.
And in the two short months that President Trump has been back in office, he’s been able to restore, again, that hope and that optimism for people in college. Being able to have the prospects of a high-paying job coming out of school and being able to participate in that American Dream. As the father of two college kids myself, with one preparing to graduate this spring, the job prospects that she had six months ago are far different than the job prospects that she enjoys today. Six months ago, she was scared and nervous about entering the job market. Today, she’s had multiple job interviews because people are now seeing, especially with President Trump as president, there are plenty of opportunities to continue to grow our economy.
And that’s where young people really see that difference. So getting involved matters, being engaged matters, and especially the young and enthusiastic people being able to bring their sense of purpose to the Republican Party is very beneficial. And so I would encourage any young person: get involved, inform, be able to understand and know the difference between the Republican Party and the Democrat Party, understand its policies and how those policies best align with your own values.
CR: Awesome, well, we appreciate it, and thank you very much. Thank you.