Val Ojeda: The War Of The Roses In The Illinois Republican Party
A Winning Solution With Winning Strategies
April 23, 2024
Val Ojeda, Writer
The War of the Roses in the Illinois Republican Party
First let me warn you that this story will come to a shock to many of you. Many that know of me or personally will be surprised by what I'm about to write. I can reassure you though that I stand behind my writing.
Let me begin by stating that the purpose of this story is not to blast any individual or organization. The reason I’m writing this is to offer options for Conservatives to work together and to stand in unity, particularly when it comes to elections.
In order to truly win, we must keep and protect the faith.
As Republicans, do we not strive to be Christians who obey God and defend our faith?
As Republicans, isn't that who we are? That's what strengthens us to keep up the fight.
A true faith that cannot be shaken was shaken at one time to get there. Through mistakes, attacks and learning through tough times.
Even those with rock solid foundations have had to be tested in order to become stronger. After 8 years of keeping the faith and campaigning 7 days a week, 365 days a year, I felt such a shaking. I'll explain.
In those years as a political operative working federal elections professionally, I was a hired gun working primaries in Republican races, chasing down the "establishment" Republicans called out as Republicans By Name Only.
“RINO's,” by definition, are Conservatives that fell by the wayside in order to embrace ideologies of the liberal philosophy. When President Trump announced his run for the White House in 2015, it became the standard to label these sellouts to the Republican Party as such. Prime examples of RINO’s include those who embrace abortion or who work with Democrats to improve their agendas, going against the standards of their party.
Since 2018, Republicans have lost the White House twice to Obama, with Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney both who ran against him (both of whom were labeled as not “conservative” enough to turn out the vote). Then came Donald Trump...
Trump came out swinging as a nationalist and a populist. “America First,” with no apologies. He spurred a movement that was never seen before, filling stadiums of 50,000 supporters who were desperate for genuine change. All were looking for that leader to save our nation, the one who would Make America Great Again. I have witnessed such events first hand, sitting front-row, as part of Trump’s senior staff for the 2016 campaign.
As we all know, Trump won and made our country great again, even though the Republican Party was broken. Our campaign worked hard for Trump, and I was encouraged to keep working Congressional and Senate campaigns, as a RINO hunting specialist. Most of my professional campaigning career included challenging other Republicans in primaries, and I was successful at it.
In 2021 I entered the campaign business independently after placing many in political office including many in Illinois alone. Now challenging Democrats in political races, and I fought to win GOP Republican primaries to move forward in the general elections against the liberals.
After working campaigns for so long, this was the year that shook me. In the last year of working Illinois Republican primaries, I've seen so many personal wars within the Republican Party, aside from the primaries. I’m not proud of it but I've even been involved in some of these myself.
After devastating losses in the 2022 midterms, the Illinois Republican Party was handed the most losses in Illinois GOP and general elections. The Democrats were savagely winning every Congressional and Senate race. They won every State Constitutional race, including Governor, and they overtook the already Democrat supermajority Illinois General Assembly by winning more seats in the Illinois House and Senate. The Democrats won so many seats that year in the GA that five new Democrat members were seated on the Republican side because the Democratic side ran out of seats.
So it was in December of 2022 that the Grassroots Republicans rightfully demanded change in the Illinois Republican leadership. As we know however, demands are not just enough. No changes were made. That December my partner and I created The Illinois Republican to report the inner workings of Republican politics, policies and campaign methods. By producing stories with honest transparency, we could openly share questionable methods of certain Republican leaders and of course, expose the RINO's.
Since 2022, I've written hundreds of articles in defense of Grassroots individuals, leaders and organizations. And all the way up to the 2024 GOP primary, there have been times that we actually went to war.
The problem that I came to see and the reason I was shaken was that during the 2024 primaries, the Republican Party was no longer split between “establishment” and Grassroots. It was DIVIDED into over twenty different factions, including Grassroots fighting other Grassroots. Trump supporters against other Trump supporters. Black conservatives against black conservatives, including my case of Hispanic conservatives versus Hispanic conservatives. How did we come to this. Hate, jealousy or even pride?
I ran up to 26 political campaigns in Illinois and other states, yet Illinois became the embarrassment of them all. I discovered that in Illinois, Republicans have too many chiefs and not enough indians. I discussed this extensively on television, radio, podcasts, and through print. Many want to carry the title of General but are not willing to be servants. Not once would some people ever knock on a door or get their knuckles dirty to help a candidate. Instead, Facebook became a punching bag to other Republicans. I am not completely innocent of that behavior and I was part of that problem.
I discovered that because social media had become what it had, now everyone had a voice. Public pages or podcasts could be used as bully pulpits. This was the problem. There were too many attacks with no conscience and people seemed to hold no accountability for their actions.
The 2024 GOP primaries were the most brutal I've ever seen in Illinois. The sharks were out for blood against those whom they were once friends with. As a manager of races all over the state, I can give testimony to this. As a political consultant and strategist, political warfare was never personal to me but was a necessary action for my clients, in order to create political opposition. I admit that at times I took things a bit too far than was necessary.
All of this is why after the primary on March 19th, I decided to take a breather. That primary took a lot out of me physically. I needed time to eat a decent meal, sleep like a normal person, be with family and friends and to live life. I missed out on so much working 18 hour days, seven days a week. Just like the others, I too was under attack. Yes, it did affect me, but I'm a grown man and I brushed it off. However, I vowed I would never again submit myself to dirty GOP primaries. Maybe I was caught up in the campaign movement and with the stories I wrote, but I was convinced we could have all done better, even though we were campaigning and attacking each other.
During my time of rest and reflection, I decided to reevaluate how I wanted to campaign in the future. I would rebrand myself, my companies, and most importantly, I would make a change in my character. I was so focused on the development of other individuals that I forgot about my own development as an individual. I actually became humble enough to recognize I was wrong and realized I wanted to do better. Thankfully, this evolution came about through discussions with some friends in leadership and also the new love of my life that has guided me to where I am now. She is my biggest supporter.
They helped me see it was not worth it to run scorched earth campaigns just to win. As a public figure, I believe that I, like the rest, was too consumed by the social media influencer movement, and maybe the attention that it garnered. I was wrong and I apologize.
Now that I have recognized these things, I have refocused my strategies to go on the offensive against the Democrats, who represent our true enemy. This Presidential year is important because we stand to lose the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency, unless we refocus our energy to promote Republican wins!
It's time to put aside our differences and join forces to win races to secure a platform that others can learn from and build upon. Something I’ve learned from being friends with hundreds of Republican Grassroots leaders, candidates, County Chairman, media personalities and leaders of the Republican Party, is that they can't all stand each other at times.
It's a rat race for popularity and name-calling. Today the Democrats are laughing about our house being divided, because they love when we act that way. The Democrats circle the wagons to help each other and as Republicans we gossip and point fingers at other conservatives.
Now I'm not telling anyone to become a sellout to their principles and join forces with RINOs either. I will still hold those responsible that sell out our Conservative values, including becoming pro-choice, which is never acceptable. I will continue to call out with my pen those that betray the Republican Party for the Almighty dollar. And I suggest that others do the same.
Illinois Review does a great job of holding these people accountable, and they should continue to do so. I fully support them and they have a great team of investigative journalists that are producing stories with facts and truth. The leading Conservative publication in Illinois.
As for me personally, my plan is to campaign hard to defeat the Democratic agenda, instead of focusing all my energy on a chosen few RINOs. I will focus on representing GOP candidates so that they may win office, instead of keeping my head on a swivel worrying about what Republican enemies I made today or who I offended. And yes, I will work with Republican leaders that will benefit Republican candidates.
Some may not agree but now is not the time to critique or criticize but to network to assist candidates to win their seats. They deserve that much. I cannot be stubborn enough not to work with others over personal differences. Recently I was reminded of a friendship I have with RNC National Committeeman Richard Porter. That he supported Irvin. Do people not change? Porter, a former supporter of Desantis is now working hard to promote Trump and many Grassroots candidates. He is a dear friend of mine, Tom Devore and radio host John Anthony. We all speak at events promoting the GOP together. Are we RINOs?
It's about individual development and political marketing and that will be the focus of my work. Unfortunately, trying to demand “resignations” hasn't worked and never will. So regarding elections, we have to focus on replacing those that we feel are not doing their jobs in GOP leadership.
This just happened successfully in Will County, as the Chairman of the Republican Central Committee was voted out and replaced by a Grassroots candidate... by an overwhelmingly popular vote! Just like that. They once demanded he step down. He refused, and through a vote, he was replaced. This is the power of elections.
As another part of my plan, I will assist and network with Republican candidates and GOP organizations to advise and help guide them to winning races. This may include having meetings and "sit downs'' to iron out differences, so that we can work together towards the ultimate goal...to defeat the Democrats in 2024.
I'm no sellout, nor will I ever choose to sell out. There were times where others were silent, and only myself and a few others challenged the establishment. I still stand by my principles and my values and will never change them for anyone. I support Trump 100%, and I'm the biggest supporter of the Conservative Grassroots movement. Furthermore, I'm pro-life, pro-2A and a defender of the Constitution. Likewise, I will forever be against any Republican who adopts the Democrat trends or ideologies just to win races.
In spite of all the personal “earthquakes” I have felt this year, I have made the choice to become more stable in my character. I will make every effort to stay humble, yet still aggressive where it is needed, for the battles to come. Negotiation will be key for all of us.
I'm presently working with Republican organizations to plan rallies and other meetings to get the vote out. In August, we are planning to hold an all day Freedom Fest rally at the Peotone Airport with Republican celebrity speakers and Donald Trump Jr and other headliners. This will consist of entertainment, live bands, food vendors and a chance to come together as one Republican family to support Republican candidates and President Trump. Teri King will be spearheading this event along with a committee to organize the event.
Another plan I have is to create a 501c3 to create the first Conservative Chamber of Commerce, the CCC to organize and network Republican only businesses to assist each other in promoting their businesses. We will also assist to create conservative businesses by establishing LLCs, EIN numbers, funding, licenses and navigating the governmental system. This has never been done before. If you ever need a trusted plumber or a lawyer using this system you can get a decent rate and feel rest assured that you will get honest and trusted work. Conservative business expos will be provided to network with monthly meetings.
Finally I'm developing a plan to create using my experience a portal to assist candidates and individuals that seek to run for office. A training academy and pipeline to assist them in their campaigns. Everything from creating a political committee, building websites, legal, graphic design, printing, quarterly reports, fundraising and the necessary strategies to win office. Right now there is nothing offered anywhere to do this including with the Illinois Republican Party. Now we will do this on our own to help other conservatives.
This Republican team needs to become one with the same strategy and energy to win back Illinois and our country. We have to work together. We must build back the solid foundation that we once had. It’s not about what's most important for us individually, but what will keep us a strong and United Republican Party as one.