Red in a Blue State examines the backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of Massachusetts attendees and others at the 2024 RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first day had the theme "Make America Wealthy Once Again."
Michael Valanzola, delegate from Wales, Massachusetts
"I work in the IT industry in a customer advocacy role, but also very active locally in politics. Member of the board of selectmen, chair of the regional school district, and for a number of years sat in the Republican State Committee.
"I think the most interesting part about this election is, and it's not happened for a long, long time where you have, you know, two presidents effectively competing against each other now with each of them having had four years in the office. And so they both now done the job and they both have records. And I think if you look at President Trump's record, whether it's on inflation, you know, overall taxation, energy independence, immigration, national defense on each and every one of those issues, I just think President Trump had a far superior outcome than what we've seen over the course of the last four years.
"I do have family members that are Democrats and friends that are Democrats. I've tried to maintain those relationships because it ought to be about more than just simply what one's ideology is ... But the media has, you know, contributed to exacerbating some of that polarization that I don't think is great for any of us or for the country. So, I do hope that if any good comes out of this past weekend, it's that we take a step back, we breathe, and we realize that this is supposed to be America, that we're entitled to all have varying opinions, that we may have different philosophies about how to go accomplish something or what we think is the most important thing to accomplish."
Emma Foley, delegate from Brighton, Massachusetts
"The issues that drive me to the voting booth are abortion and gender ideology. I am un-apologetically pro-life from the moment of conception to natural death. And I think that the gender ideology and this radical idea, um, that we're pushing on our children now, uh, needs to change or it needs to be halted as soon as possible.
"Today, we presented and voted on the party platform. And Sen. Marsha Blackburn said, this isn't a laundry list of special interests. I really liked when she said that, um, it's it's bringing America back to common sense. And Trump is, I believe, a man of the people. There's been a bit of a populist movement in favor of Trump, but for these issues, I think that it is definitely more beneficial than the Democrats and the left's radical ideology.
"We're currently living in a time where orthodoxy and right thinking and the concept of natural law are being stifled. People are being told that they are outdated, bigoted, all of the above. And for the vast majority of modern civilization, there have been these concepts. And that is where you can find joy, and that's where you can flourish. You're not going to flourish in third wave feminism and radical gender ideology and moral relativism. You will flourish when you can find truth. And that's that's why that's where America, why America was founded. And that's where we need to return."
Paul Ramirez, delegate alternate from Whittier, California
"I live in Whittier, California, and I'm very proud to say that we have a majority Republican conservative city council. But Los Angeles County, where Whittier is located, is very, very liberal. So I'm a bit of a unicorn, but I'm a Latino, I'm gay, I'm a Republican, and I'm all in for Trump.
"I've always been somewhat of a unicorn ... I do my research, I want to understand the facts, and then I vote accordingly. To that especially, you know, in the gay and lesbian community, 2016, they hated us. Trump got about 14, 15% of the gay and lesbian vote in 2020. That number went up to about 25%. They're beginning to understand that Trump represents all Americans, and this is about country first, this election cycle. [In] '24, we anticipate over 50% of the gay and lesbian vote. They are waking up. And these are numbers from Log Cabin Republicans, not from myself. But they understand it's about the country. Everyone buys gasoline, everyone buys groceries. Everyone has mouths to feed or a mortgage or rent. And inflation is tanking their dreams. We need to restore this country and get it back. Everyone. Everyone."
Frank Eathorne, delegate and state party chair from Wyoming
“You know, everything comes back to we're not we're not following the law of the land. If we would do that, most of these problems would go away.We just have to return to Republican principles. I'm a big believer in the platform. Private property rights are huge. Important. Where I come from, that's a norm — to be able to use your property as you see fit. And that is deteriorating in our nation. NGOs and the government are seen to be gobbling up the management so that, that's a huge issue. Didn't make it into our platform this year, but it's a long term fight. Right?
"You know, there's a lot of sensationalism surrounded around the people and titles, and I understand that's part of human nature, but the real solution is we the people. And I would implore every individual to train and teach what it means to apply the Constitution in our lives, in our government. So that we don't become a socialist or a communist country. Look at the cycle of history in our nations, in our world. They've all gone through these cycles and we're on that cycle. And if we're not careful, we're going to end up like China, we're going to end up like Russia. And so I think it's important first to be educated. Educate yourself to get the right information, go and read and interpret and understand and apply it. The Constitution, your state constitution there. So important. Founding Fathers of every state in this nation were extremely wise. And if we would just follow that blueprint, we wouldn't have half the battles we do."