RJC Leadership Meeting is a Star-Studded Success

The RJC National Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas was a resounding success. Over 700 attendees heard from dozens of A-list Republican speakers during a weekend filled with positive energy, enthusiasm, and optimism for the future.

RJC National Chairman Norm Coleman welcomes attendees to the meeting.

The event received significant media coverage. Here are some highlights to give you a sense of the weekend.

Marc Rod at the Jewish Insider writes:

Buoyed by GOP victories last Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership conference — a key stop for potential 2024 presidential candidates and other party luminaries — held in Las Vegas over the weekend offered a model for the party’s midterm strategy.

The conference — a “kosher cattle call,” in the words of former White House press secretary and RJC board member Ari Fleischer — showed a Republican Party that is embracing the policies of former President Donald Trump, but which is trying to move past him as the party’s singular center of gravity.

Multiple attendees who spoke to Jewish Insider were upbeat about the party’s chances of picking up big wins in the 2022 midterms following last week’s GOP victories…

“This is an incredible day, an amazing turnout, incredible amount of energy,” RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks told reporters. “The results from Tuesday, it’s got everybody excited… And we’re thrilled to be able to bring people together to continue… to build on the increasing support for the Republican Party within the Jewish community.”

A similar message came through in speeches from rising GOP stars and party mainstays throughout the weekend, who seemed uniformly confident about the party’s prospects next year.

…The conference included a deep lineup of potential 2024 presidential candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL), former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

…The convention also featured numerous tributes to Sheldon Adelson, the Republican mega-donor and avid Israel supporter who died last January. Adelson was a major backer of the RJC and owned the Venetian Hotel, which has hosted the RJC conference for years.

The Washington Post reports:

Fresh off a strong showing in last week’s elections, some of the nation’s leading Republicans expressed newfound confidence this weekend that they were well positioned to retake control of Congress next year and ultimately win back the White House.

Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a potential presidential contender in 2024, boasted that Democrats were “freaking out” after losing the Virginia governor’s race and nearly falling short in New Jersey. Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, called Tuesday’s strong showing “a tsunami” and a “precursor of really great things to come in 2022.”

Averi Harper at ABC News reports:

The Republican Jewish Coalition meeting typically centers on foreign policy, like relations with Israel and with other nations in the region. Former Vice President Mike Pence largely touted the accomplishments of the Trump administration as it pertains to Israel, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem… In addition to US-Israeli relations, this time around at the annual meeting there was a great deal of attention paid to domestic issues.

Jacob Magid at the Times of Israel writes:

“Everybody seems to think that the way to appeal to the Jewish vote is to talk about Israel, Israel, Israel,” RJC executive director Matt Brooks told reporters in a Saturday briefing.

“The reality is the Jewish community, like the mainstream community, cares about a lot of different things. They care about jobs, the economy and certainly education,” said Brooks.

“So we’ve been talking about education as a Jewish value — whether it be school choice or parental involvement. We know that this issue has resonated with Jewish voters for a long time,” he said…

The RJC welcomed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), and Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH).

The Jewish News Service sent Ellie Cohanim to the meeting, where she interviewed top RJC leaders. Cohanim, who served in the Trump administration as Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the United States Department of State, spoke with RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks, RJC National Chairman Norm Coleman, and RJC Board of Directors member Ari Fleischer. You can see her interviews here.

The fantastic program also featured Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a panel with Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Michael Waltz (R-FL), a panel led by RJC National Chairman Norm Coleman with former special envoy Brian Hook and Amb. Ron Dermer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

C-SPAN covered some elements of the program. You can see their video coverage here:

Day 1, Part 1: Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH)

Day 1, Part 2: Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

Day 2, Part 1: A panel session featuring former Ambassador Ron Dermer and former State Department Special Envoy Brian Hook to discuss the Abraham Accords and the Iran nuclear threat; Republican Representatives Lee Zeldin (NY) and Michael Waltz (FL) discussing national security and foreign policy; Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL); former Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ); and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley; and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA). Former President Donald Trump presented via a recorded video.

Day 2, Part 2: A panel discussion moderated by Ari Fleischer and featuring former Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.